Moving Forward
by Kimberly T
Summary: An authorized sequel to Aservis Roturier's story "Père Lachaise" (with quick summary of her tale inside.) After seven long and lonely years, Ciel is back among the living—well, the demonic equivalent—and Sebastian couldn't be happier. But where do they go from here?
1. In Debt and Dining Out

**MOVING FORWARD **

**a Sequel to the Sequel to ****Père**** Lachaise**

by Kimberly T.

_Long Author's Note_: This story is, as the subtitle plainly states, a sequel to a sequel to Aservis Roturier'sexcellent and touchingly tragic one-shot story "Père Lachaise", which can be found on her profile. And where is the first sequel, you might ask? Well, that's also on her profile. After I read her story, I felt positively compelled to write a follow-up to it; the story poured out of my fingertips in less than two hours and was posted as a 1,000-word 'review' to Aservis's story, with my apologies for inflicting it on her in that manner. But thankfully Aservis not only accepted my apology but accepted the story as a sequel, and posted it as Chapter 2 to her story with all appropriate credit due.

But the plot bunny that had sunk its demonic fangs into me and compelled me to write the sequel (which was never properly titled, but which I think of as 'Seven Years in a Cemetery') just wasn't done gnawing on my brainstem. Which is why you are now reading this story, the sequel to the sequel, which has been posted with Aservis Roturier's express permission.

Before you go any further, you really should consult my FFnet profile's Favorite Stories list, find and read "Père Lachaise", or you won't understand at all what's going on in this story. It's okay, I'll wait… (Patiently hums a little tune)

But if you're quite sure you've read that excellent story already as well as my follow-up, and just want a quickie refresher on the most pertinent details, here they are:

It starts in Paris and seven months after the end of the anime series II, after Ciel is turned into a demon and he and Sebastian leave Phantomhive Manor forever. Sebastian hates being contracted to Ciel now, sentenced to serve as a butler for Eternity and without the reward he'd rightly earned, and he's let the boy-demon know it too. And after Ciel has realized that Sebastian, the most important and dearest person in his entire world, now apparently loathes him and never wanted him for anything more than a meal, he falls into a deep depression. After getting Sebastian to list the ways that a demon can die, Ciel commits suicide. Only then does Sebastian realize how much he values Ciel for himself and his companionship, and manages to stop the demon-child at the very brink of death… but he can't revive him entirely; Ciel is left in a coma-like state, completely unresponsive to the world.

In my first sequel, it takes Sebastian seven years of hunting souls to feed to Ciel, seven years of guilt and repentance, hardship and desperation before he is unexpectedly _**given **_the soul that finally, fully revives the demon-child; the story ends with Ciel opening his eyes.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

**MOVING FORWARD**

**Chapter 1: In Debt and Dining Out**

Ohhh, that sweet shade of cerise exposed when those eyes finally fluttered open of their own accord; Sebastian had never beheld anything cuter. Until they changed color a moment later to their original deep blue, and then he _knew_ that there could not possibly be any sight more _beautiful_ anywhere on earth; that deep blue was the color of his only Heaven… his Ciel.

Those sweet lips parted of their own accord as well, and Ciel whispered, "Sebastian? What… you're crying…" He was so enthralled just by hearing his little lord's voice again that it took a few moments for the words to actually sink in; when they did, he dabbed at his cheeks and felt the moisture there with astonishment.

Who had ever heard of a demon _weeping_?! Tears were for mortals, not for his kind! And tears were for _grief_, while right now he was so very far from grieving! His entire being was filled with relief and joy at having Ciel back with him, awake after what seemed an eternity of waiting and desperately hoping. There must be something wrong with him, after so many years of starving himself while feeding every soul he could safely snatch to his precious—

Ciel reached up towards his face, the youth's pale features starting to crease with worry, and Sebastian instantly shoved the mysterious ailment out of his thoughts while catching that hand and pressing fervent kisses to his fingers. "Awake, you're awake, my dear little lord, awake at last and it's been _so long_, so very long and I'm so very sorry, forgive me, but it's all right if you don't because all that matters is that you're awake at last…" He was dimly aware that he was babbling like a brook, hardly fitting behavior for a demon of his rank, but it had been a very long time since he had given the slightest damn about fitting behavior. No, that didn't matter at all anymore; all that mattered was—

"Sebastian, stop," Ciel finally said rather irritably, and Sebastian instantly shut up and stopped kissing and nuzzling that small hand, but couldn't bring himself to let go of it; he held it to his chest while staring adoringly and imploringly into his dear little earl's eyes, waiting for his next order. But all Ciel said next was a soft, bewildered, "...What happened?"

Sebastian blinked at him, momentarily dumbstruck, before finally saying hesitantly, "You don't remember, my lord?"

"No, I-" Then Ciel's breath caught and his eyes went wide for a moment, before losing their focus as his thoughts turned inwards on themselves, on the memories that Sebastian could tell were coming back to him. "...oh."

Sebastian could stand it no longer, he _had to_ gather the boy close again, cradling him to his chest as he both fiercely berated and fervently begged, "Little one, don't _**ever**_ do that again! Not ever!"

Ciel's voice was tiny and muffled against his chest, but he could still hear him say hesitantly, "But... I thought you hated me..."

"I was a fool," Sebastian said harshly, finally speaking aloud the words that he'd flogged himself with many times over the years. "A sulking idiot, an angry _imbecile_, too blindly bitter over what I'd lost to realize and cherish what I still had! But I know now what I should have known then, and I swear to you, little one, my dearest little lord... I am more than willing, nay, I will be _delighted_ to stay by your side as servant, guide and protector, through all Eternity."

The boy's arms crept around his torso to hug him back, tentatively at first but with increasing fierceness as he muttered, "If this is all just one last dream, I don't care; please let it all end this way."

The words stung his heart, and Sebastian pulled Ciel back just enough to look him in the eyes as he growled, "_Do not talk of ending_! If I had been even another _hour_ later waking up, you would have been gone forever! I was barely in time to keep you from dying entirely, and I've spent these last _seven years_ doing everything I could to revive you and bring you back!"

Ciel stared at him in wide-eyed silence before finally whispering, "Seven years?"

His nod of response was slow, as he felt the weight of those lost years once more; weighing far heavier on him than all the millennia of his existence prior to meeting his Ciel. "Seven years, three weeks and five days."

After another moment of just staring frozen in shock, Ciel slowly lowered his gaze to Sebastian's lapels as he whispered, "I'm sorry… Sorry to put you to all that troub-"

Sebastian blurted out, "Oh no, no, dear little one, you've nothing to be sorry for!" as he gathered him close once more and began rocking him in his arms. "I am the one who is so supremely sorry, to have driven you to such despair. To have taken all my rage at what those despicable demons had done, out on the one who scarcely deserved it at all, and was as much a victim of their schemes as I," he murmured into that downy-soft hair the shade of slate. "I am so, so very sorry, my Ciel… but now I am also so very happy, that I have the chance to make it up to you."

It seemed to take the demon-child a few moments more to really believe the truth of his words, but finally Ciel relaxed into his embrace, clutching his lapels with one hand while nuzzling that dear little face into his chest like a kitten looking to be petted. Sebastian sighed contentedly while rubbing his back, and kissed the crown of his hair—

And then they both froze as a voice rang out from somewhere overhead, a shrill tone that they were painfully familiar with, saying in a gay singsong, "_You're welll-comme_!"

Demon and demon-child locked eyes for an instant, silently asking each other with equally startled and dismayed expressions if they'd really heard that. And then they both looked up, Sebastian with his eyes already blazing and fangs bared, to see the Grim Reaper Grell Sutcliffe perched on a branch high overhead and grinning down at them, his scarlet coat still bright in the evening gloom and his chainsaw Deathscythe slung over one shoulder.

Grell grinned even wider, showing all his pointed teeth, as he gave a fingertip-wave down at them. "Hello, my sweet Bassy-chan! And hello, Brat; you're looking much better! I knew those souls would do the trick!"

Later on, Sebastian would decide he was actually grateful for Grell showing up at just that moment. Because at the sight of that Grim Reaper who had plagued them so often in the past, as swiftly as switching on a light, that hesitant and still-so-timid little Ciel turned into _Earl Phantomhive_, _the Queen's Watchdog_. The arrogant aristocrat who always strode confidently into the darkness, the child prodigy who dared to match wits with hardened killers four times his age and experience, who stared unflinchingly into the blackest of hearts while placing unwavering trust in the demon who walked at his side; that was Sebastian's little lord at his finest. And it was _Earl Phantomhive_ who shouted upwards, "Explain yourself, this instant! And for starters, explain what a member of the British branch of the Grim Reapers is doing in Paris!"

Then his eyes flickered sideways to Sebastian's, asking silently, _We are still in Paris, right_? Sebastian gave the barest nod of confirmation, and the Queen's Watchdog glared upwards again.

Grell adjusted his spectacles as he frowned down at them, saying, "Well, that's gratitude for you! And after I went to all that trouble for you, too… Well, for your information, I applied for and was granted a transfer to the Paris region three years ago. London was just so _drab_ and _boring_ without my sweet Bassy-Chan to play with! And word had finally floated across the Reaper divisions that a certainly devilishly handsome butler and his brat had been spotted in Paris, the City of Lights… or should I say, the City of Love! Really a far more appropriate nickname where Bassy-Chan is concerned!" as he tittered most disturbingly.

"So I came here, and what did I find? At first, only traces of where you had been! As if you were continually _hiding_ from everyone! I really couldn't believe it at first; what could possibly make my bold and beautiful Bassy-chan turn into a shrinking violet? But finally I got my hands on this," as Grell reached into a voluminous pocket of his scarlet overcoat, and pulled out a tube-like device; it extended to become a telescope, its casing etched in arcane symbols. "And after some diligent bird-watching, I finally found my dear black raven! But he was carrying a little wounded bluebird everywhere he went."

The Reaper pocketed the telescope and leaped lightly down from the tree branch to the cemetery lawn, to stride towards them with that alarming grin of his. "And cowardly stealing souls from stray humans whenever you thought no Reaper was looking, instead of making devilish contracts for them or engaging in spectacular battles with angels and reapers for your savory delights. Really, Bassy, such disappointing behavior! But it was plain to see why you were behaving so wretchedly; something dreadful had happened to your brat, and you were occupied with keeping him safe and fed until he was well again."

Grell struck a supremely self-satisfied pose, every line in his body suggesting that the demons were allowed to start worshipping his greatness whenever they pleased. "Undertaker had told me all about the brat being turned into a demon by some other demons; the old boy always knows the best gossip, even if it's hard to get him to part with it! And everyone knows that for demons, a freely given soul is more than their ambrosia, it's their cure-all! So I waited until a suitably despairing soul appeared on my 'to die' list, a stupid cow who'd believed all the lies her boyfriend told her until he found out she was pregnant. I stepped in to keep her going instead of letting her die at her appointed time, and discreetly herded her in this direction until I was sure you would find her and take care of the rest. None of which was easy, I assure you! And I'd get into all kinds of trouble with my division bosses if they ever found out… But of course, anything for my dear Bassy." And then he looked at them expectantly.

There was a pregnant pause as Sebastian and Ciel looked at each other, reluctantly acknowledging what Grell had done for them. Then Sebastian slowly set the demon-child down to stand by his side, so he could fully bow to the Reaper while saying, "Grell Sutcliffe, you have given me and my lord invaluable aid, and... I owe you a boon in return."

Grell dramatically threw his hands in the air as he exclaimed, "_**Finally**_**!** _Finally_, after everything I've done for him over the years, the man admits how much he owes me!"

"_Yes_," Sebastian agreed through gritted teeth, not liking the reminder of all the ways he had used Grell's obsession with him to manipulate the Reaper, back when Ciel had been fully human. Not that he had any remorse at all for what he'd done, but several of those run-ins with the deviant shinigami had involved moments that he'd rather keep from his little lord's ears. "So ask what you will, and if it does not involve risk to my lord in any way, then I shall comply."

Grell, grinned widely, showing all his pointed teeth. "Bassy, darling! You know what I want, what I've wanted all along; one night of unbridled and glorious passion, to have you all to myself for whatever I want!"

The Reaper revved up his Deathscythe and spun in a joyous circle while swinging it overhead, casually lopping off a few tree branches as he caroled, "We'll paint this town _**so red**_, crimson as a bed of roses!"

Ciel grabbed Sebastian around the waist, gripping him fiercely while scowling at Grell. "Hold on; as Sebastian's master, I have some say in this bargain!" The older demon knew he really should tell the boy to hush, that he'd have paid nearly any price to have him restored and he'd gladly endure whatever Grell had in mind, but he was too touched by the protective (and perhaps, dare he hope, jealous?) gesture to say a word.

Grell stopped dancing about and frowned indignantly at Ciel, and the demon-child demanded, "You'll do nothing that will cause him serious injuries; nothing that he can't completely recover from within minutes!"

Grell rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, _**fine**_; I hereby promise, nothing but flesh wounds. But in return Bassy-chan has to promise to not touch my beautiful face; not just for our night on the town, but never again!"

Sebastian smirked at the Reaper. "Really? You want me to promise to never touch your face?" as he lifted his free hand to lightly draw a gloved finger along his own cheek, accompanying the caress with a heavy-lidded look of suggestion.

Grell nearly _swooned_. And when he recovered, he coyly tittered, "Well, _that_ kind of touching is allowed, of course!"

Sebastian and Ciel exchanged looks again; Ciel's worried, and Sebastian's resigned. Then they turned back to Grell as Sebastian said with a nod, "Very well, the bargain is made. But I must insist that you wait for your promised night; I cannot leave my lord's side right now, not even for the span of a few hours! He is so newly recovered and weak yet, and I will not leave him to be easy prey for any other supernatural creature that might come along."

Grell crossed his arms and pouted, but finally said, "Fine, I'll wait. I'll give you one more full night and day; that's plenty of time to stuff another soul or two down your baby bird's gullet." Then he pointed at Sebastian as he said firmly, "And while you get _yourself_ someone to eat too, Bassy-chan; you're starved at least half-to-death already, and I want you feeling fit for our fun!"

Ciel spun to stare upwards at Sebastian as he blurted out, "You're really _starving_? Half-to-death?!"

Sebastian tried to demur, but Grell overrode him with a matter-of-fact, "From what I saw through the aetherscope, Brat, he fed every single soul he could grab to you without saving any for himself. And it's showing, if you know what to look for; his— Oh, don't give me that look, Bassy darling; you know I'm only saying this for your own good!"

"Then we are agreed," Sebastian said forcefully, glowering at the Reaper in warning to say nothing more on the matter of his wellbeing. "You and I will meet back here at this same time tomorrow, whereupon you shall have me at your disposal and for your pleasures until dawn."

"Wonderful!" as Grell twirled around a few times in raptures of joy, "This will be a night to remember for all time!" Then he stopped to bat his eyelashes at Sebastian while saying, "But for now, I simply must get back to work; souls to reap, supervisors to keep blissfully unaware, you know how it is!" He turned to the side while revving up his Deathscythe again; the weapon cut a gaping hole in thin air, through which an unearthly light gleamed. "Until tomorrow; _à__tout__à__l'__heure_, Bassy-chan!" he cried gaily as he stepped through the doorway and disappeared, as did the doorway an instant later.

The cemetery was quiet again after the Reaper left, and fully dark now that night had completely fallen. Sebastian sighed as he turned to his little one and asked, "Shall we depart, my lord? If we have only the one night to restore you to sufficient strength before I must give Grell his due, then we must find more populated hunting grounds."

"To restore us _**both**_ to sufficient strength," Ciel said firmly. "But how are we to do that; to get souls for you to eat while you're still under contract to me? I was under the definite impression that contracts typically involve exclusivity; that while a demon is contracted to someone, they can't go nibbling on any other souls until the contract is finished."

Sebastian said uncomfortably, "That is true, my lord, but—"

"Ah!" Ciel brightened as an idea came to him. "What if I _ordered_ you to eat someone's soul? After all, you've said before that while under contract, I own every particle of your being; I'd say that incudes your appetite. There's nothing in our contract to say that I _can't_ give an order like that, so… would that work?" as he gave the elder demon a hopeful look.

"Yes, my lord; that will do quite well," as Sebastian smiled with relief. He knew that sooner or later they'd have to have a serious conversation about the contract, but he was more than willing to put it off until much later.

"Well then, let's be off to the lowest parts of Paris," Ciel said as he reached upwards, and Sebastian immediately scooped him up to cradle him in his arms again. "You may not get the most savory souls there, but right now I'm far more concerned with filling you up so you'll be better able to survive whatever depravities Grell has in mind for you. There'll be time to fuss with finding and securing more palatable fare on other nights."

"What a coincidence, my lord; I had the very same thoughts on tending to your wellbeing," Sebastian said with an exceedingly wry smile as he sprang into the air.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Ciel still wasn't 100% convinced that what he was experiencing right now was completely real, and not one last dream before final oblivion; his subconscious giving his dying mind something to think about besides the sight of his own blood swirling down the bathtub drain.

He had taken Sebastian's tailcoat into the bathroom with him, to steal a last and miniscule measure of comfort from the scent of his butler that permeated the fabric. That familiar scent that had somehow always reminded him of cinnamon and vanilla instead of sulfur and brimstone might be aiding his imagination even now, to concoct the most vivid dream he'd ever had. But if this was all just one last dream, he was going to savor every moment of it; savor the feel of those strong arms cradling him again in warmth and safety, and the thrill of the night air rushing past them as they traveled at breakneck speeds.

With Sebastian's prodigious leaps clearing up to fifty yards in a single bound, it took them only a short while to leave the vast acreage of Père Lachaise Cemetery behind and reach one of the poorest sections of Paris, one that hadn't been touched by Haussman's grand renovations yet. But before they'd quite arrived, Sebastian said quite suddenly, "My lord, would you please say something?"

The words startled Ciel from his contented reverie, and he responded with a somewhat bewildered, "Such as?"

"Anything; I care not what." Sebastian's voice sounded strained. "Talk of the weather, call me insults, recite poetry; just _please_, do not stay so silent! I... I have endured too many years of such silence, and now it greatly unsettles me."

And now Ciel was greatly unsettled, by Sebastian's admission. What had his butler endured over the last seven years, to leave him so weak as to even _admit_ to a weakness?! ...Hopefully it was just extreme hunger, as Grell had said, and tucking into a soul or two would set him to rights. In the meantime, Ciel wracked his brains for something to say besides just blithering like an idiot, and finally decided on Sebastian's third suggestion; a poetry recitation.

He knew very little poetry, having always left such fancies to Lizzie while he read murder mysteries and the like, but there was one poem he had read and still recalled quite clearly, due to its author and its subject. He cleared his throat and began, "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—"

Sebastian chuckled as he recognized the poem, and Ciel continued, "While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. ''Tis some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more.' "

But by the time he finished the second verse of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven", they had landed on the roof of a squalid-looking tenement hall overlooking a dank-smelling alley, and Sebastian was setting him on his feet again—though handling him so carefully, one would suppose he'd been made of spun glass. Then together they looked over the edge of the rooftop, down into the alley below. There were no street lights in this poor section of Paris, but the moon was full and rising; plenty of light for his now-demonic eyes to see what was going on far below their feet.

And the sight below was enough to turn Ciel's stomach. Paris abounded with prostitutes, even more so than London, and far too many of them were children; young girls who had been orphaned or even abandoned by their families who could not afford to feed them. In some despicable cases, the girls' own parents were their pimps, selling their bodies to whoever lusted after them for sums as low as two francs per rape. The silently miserable girl in the alley below them couldn't have been more than eight years old… and the man roughly groping her and rucking her skirts up, no less than forty years of age.

Ciel's lip curled in disgust as he pointed at the man and growled, "He'll do for a start. But be sure she gets whatever money is in his pockets first."

"Yes, my lord! Please wait here, I'll be but a moment," as Ciel abruptly found himself moved several feet back from the edge of the roof, even as Sebastian lightly leaped off it to vanish below his field of vision. Ciel huffed in mild annoyance—his butler's sudden overprotectiveness was going to get old rather quickly—but waited where he was, while below him he heard the girl shriek in fright, and the man start to shout in protest—a shout that was abruptly choked off. And Sebastian's voice a moment later, saying in soothing tones, "Here, child, for you; now take it and _run_."

Barely a second later, he heard the slapping of cheap shoes on the pavement as the little girl ran away; then there was another sound—something like a wet squelching, or suctioning; liquid in some fashion—and a second or two later, Sebastian was back on the roof and kneeling in front of him, and smiling while presenting something in his cupped hands. "Your supper, my lord; please pardon the lack of tableware and other accouterments."

Ciel stared at what his butler was presenting; it was the first time he had ever seen a _soul_. There was no real shape to it, nor truly any substance, but it was there nonetheless, and faintly glowing to his new eyes. _This_ was what he would have to live on, for the rest of his possibly endless existence. He was repulsed by the thought… but oh dear god, how he _wanted_ that shining thing, a sudden craving that struck him as stronger than the strongest urge he'd ever felt for chocolate or even tea…

But he put his hand up to ward it off, saying firmly, "That one is yours."

Sebastian lost his smile. "But my lord, you—"

"Sebastian, as I understand it, I ate scarcely an hour ago. While you haven't had anything to eat for _at least_ the last ten years! _This is an order_, Sebastian; eat that soul. And enjoy it, one hopes," he added rather lamely.

"Yes, my lord." And Sebastian brought his cupped hands up to his own mouth, closed his eyes and inhaled. The ethereal glow disappeared between his lips, and the demon butler was very still for a second—and then he sighed, while giving a shudder of unmistakable relief and satisfaction.

Ciel waited patiently for Sebastian to finish enjoying his meal, while wishing he still had his walking stick at hand; he wondered idly what had happened to it in the intervening years. When his butler finally opened his eyes, he asked mildly, "Feeling better?"

Sebastian's smile was wry but grateful as he replied, "Yes, my lord; thank you for asking."

Ciel studied his butler's face, comparing it to his memories of what Sebastian had looked like when they had first formed the contract, and decided that he still looked a little peaked. He asked to confirm his suspicion, "But if you were truly starving earlier, badly enough that even _Grell_ noticed, is it going to take more than just that one soul to put you back in top form?"

Sebastian reluctantly nodded as he got back to his feet. "Unfortunately, yes, my lord. That is always the case when eating souls taken by force, instead of properly earned by contract or freely given."

Ciel cocked his head inquiringly; that was news to him. There was so much about his new state of being that he still didn't know or understand... but there was no time like the present for a quick lesson. "Why is that, then? Does the whole thing not come out when you take it by force? Are the most nutritious bits left behind?"

"That isn't quite accurate... but it is perhaps the closest analogy, my lord," Sebastian said as he frowned in thought. "I know of no terms in any human language that would describe the process better."

"Well, let's go and get you a few more, then; I need you to be in tip-top shape for tomorrow." Ciel added sternly, "I shan't eat until you're properly stuffed, is that clear?"

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian said with a bow. "I would assume you prefer that we dine solely on criminals tonight?"

"You assume correctly. I know I am no longer the Queen's Watchdog, nor even in our old jurisdiction, but… I would prefer to retain a few of my human habits, as long as I possibly can."

"Understood, my lord," as Sebastian scooped him up again. "Then let us find more human predators to prey upon."

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

There had been one interruption in the hunt, when Sebastian had abruptly scooped up his little one and retreated quickly across the river Seine, to avoid another member of the Paris division of Grim Reapers out on a retrieval. Now that Ciel was conscious again, he was no longer absolutely helpless, but Sebastian would still take no chances with his safety. But five hours after they had begun, Sebastian's hunger was well sated, and Paris had been relieved of two more child rapists, three armed and violent muggers, some brute who'd just beaten his wife to death, and a burglar who'd climbed back out of a window with blood spatters on his gloves. Sebastian had known by the scent that it wasn't human blood, but hadn't bothered to correct Ciel's impression before he was ordered to take him. (Because it had been _feline_ blood, which made the man even more despicable scum so far as the demon was concerned.)

And now, after eating seven souls (not all that tasty, but filling) and declaring quite truthfully to Ciel that he felt not just full but as hale and powerful as he had ever been, Sebastian was finally able to persuade his little one to eat the eighth soul. He slipped the ethereal substance between the demon-child's willingly parted lips, and waited to see what he thought of his first meal taken while conscious. Would Ciel complain about the coarseness of the flavor, or would he eagerly demand another?

But to Sebastian's surprise and dismay, instead of either complaints or demands for more, Ciel suddenly began to _cry._ "His name was Alphonse," the boy-demon whispered brokenly while clutching his stomach, as tears trickled down his cheeks. "Dear god, I didn't want to know his _name_…"

Mentally chastising himself for not expecting something like this—of course the experience would be different for Ciel; demons thought of humans in general as little better than cattle, but to his little lord it had only been a very short time since he had been part of that herd!—Sebastian gathered the quietly weeping demon-child into his arms, and murmured as he rocked him back and forth while rubbing his back, "I understand, little one. Sshhh, shhh… There, there; it will get easier, in time…"

At least, Sebastian hoped it would become easier for his little lord in time; he had no experience at all with the formative years of newly-turned demons, only millennia-old demonic lore to draw upon. For tonight, though, their hunting was clearly done. He would have preferred to tuck another soul past those lips, but he knew now that it would be useless to try until after the shock of this first time had worn off.

And the elder demon had to admit to himself that the child truly didn't need another bite; he was very nearly glowing from within after having been fed three souls in less than six hours, including one freely given, which was worth any ten souls forcibly ripped from the body. He was still as weak as a newborn, but it was highly likely that Ciel wouldn't feel truly hungry for another two to three years, and might possibly be sated for a full decade.

After Ciel had finished and dried his eyes (looking thoroughly angry with himself for showing such weakness), Sebastian took him to the small house waiting for them at the western border of Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. The demon had moved them and their few belongings into the house seven years ago, after feeding the former owner's soul to his little one; the city tax collectors cared not who owned the house now so long as they received their due on time.

The tiny dwelling was a far cry indeed from Phantomhive Manor, but Sebastian had done what he could to fix it up and make it more comfortable on the inside, while still keeping the exterior plain and nondescript enough to avoid undue attention from the curious or the criminally inclined. He'd also layered the exterior several times over with the strongest avoidance wards he could make, to keep Reapers and other demons from even glancing at it, so they would have a refuge to retreat to in between hunting for souls to feed his little one.

They went inside, and as Sebastian took off and hung up their overcoats, Ciel gave a small smile while touching a finger to the head of his walking stick, which Sebastian had been keeping in the umbrella stand all these years. There followed an extremely quick tour of the small cottage, and Ciel eyed the furnishings with quiet appreciation; the elder demon had chosen color schemes reminiscent of the earl's bedroom and study back in Phantomhive Manor.

Then the boy visibly brightened when his eyes fell upon the bookcase in the corner, and Sebastian nearly glowed with pride and self-satisfaction as he walked over to it and ran his fingers along the spines of the many books displayed. The demon had raided bookseller stalls for the novels that he knew were the boy's favorites from before, and then added to the shelves newer works that he was sure the now-eternal youth would enjoy reading whenever he woke up.

"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes!" Ciel whispered gleefully, grinning with almost giddy delight as he plucked the volume from the shelves. Then he caught himself, and schooled his features to a more serene appreciation as he turned to his butler and declared, "You've done well, Sebastian."

The elder demon thought that at that moment, he couldn't have been more delighted if every single demon in Hell had lined up to bow at his feet and acknowledge him as their superior in all aesthetics.

Then Ciel pointed to one of the two overstuffed chairs Sebastian had posed near the fireplace and ordered, "Sit down."

"My lord?" Sebastian questioned in bewilderment, though he did as ordered.

"You said earlier that you get unsettled when I'm silent for any length of time," Ciel said as he sat himself down in the other chair with the book he'd chosen. "So obviously, sleeping right now is out of the question; you might well work yourself up into a fit of the vapors before I wake up again."

The elder demon kept his face impassive, though inside he was bridling at the implication that he was no better than a hysterical human female… Even if he had to admit that Ciel had a point. Just the thought of seeing Ciel asleep in the bed, lying still and silent in much the same way he'd been dreamlessly sleeping for the past seven years, made Sebastian want to dash outside again and seize a half-dozen more souls to stuff down his gullet, in a panic to make _**sure**_ he'd wake up again afterwards.

Ciel continued, "Therefore, the most sensible cure is for me to keep talking until you've had an utter surfeit of all speech for a while. And rather than blather on about the weather or other tedious subjects, I'm going to read to you; that way I'll get some measure of enjoyment out of this cure as well."

Sebastian smiled again as he said, "A sensible solution indeed, my lord."

"Of course. You may get up now and then to do whatever chores you deem necessary," Ciel said as he opened the book and flipped pages until he reached the first story, "but you are not to leave the house or stray out of earshot of my voice until I am finished. So; this first story is titled 'A Scandal in Bohemia'. To begin: 'To Sherlock Holmes she is always _the_ woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind…"

Sebastian flicked a finger at the wood in the fireplace to start a fire blazing there, and as Ciel read while the flames leaped and danced for them, he sat back with a truly contented sigh. His dinner earlier had hardly been up to his usual standards, but he readily admitted that it was good to be comfortably full again. And most important of all, he had his dear little lordling back in full mettle; yes, finally all was right with the world once more.

_To be continued_


	2. Sweets and Memories

**MOVING FORWARD**

**Chapter 2: Sweets and Memories**

"…And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the copper beeches in front of the door. Mr. Rucastle survived, but was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of his devoted wife. They still live with their old servants, who probably know so much of Rucastle's past life that he finds it difficult to part from them. Mr. Fowler and Miss Rucastle were married, by special license, in Southampton the day after their flight, and he is now the holder of a government appointment in the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of his problems, and she is now the head of a private school at Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success."

And with that, the child-turned-demon Ciel Phantomhive turned the final page of _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_, closed the book with an eminently satisfied air, and leaned back in the overstuffed chair that had been placed comfortably close to the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace. Then he turned to the elder demon sitting in another overstuffed chair not six feet away from him, and asked with a very slight, wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "So? Have you tired of hearing my voice yet?"

"Not at all," Sebastian replied quite honestly; after seven years of that terrible silence from Ciel as the boy lay in that demonic equivalent of a coma, it would take far more than just reading a book aloud from cover to cover to make him wish for silence again. He rose and crossed over to the cottage's small bookcase to pull another book from the shelves, proffering it with a hopeful smile. "Our esteemed author published another volume two years later, _The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes_…"

Ciel's eyes lit up with interest, but then he waved the volume away with a small smile and shake of his head. "No; we shall save that for another day. And even if _you_ have not had enough of my voice yet, _I_ have had enough; I have been reading for… what _is_ the time, now?" as he looked about, searching in vain for a clock on the walls of their small cottage.

After returning the book to its shelf, Sebastian pulled out his pocketwatch to consult it and reported, "A quarter of two p.m., my lord."

"Good god, that means I've been reading aloud for eleven hours straight!" Ciel exclaimed, his eyes wide as a hand automatically went up to momentarily brush against his throat. "I'm amazed that I have any voice left at all."

Sebastian smiled as he spread his hands expressively. "The benefits of your new physiology, my lord; you will find that muscle fatigue, even for your vocal cords, is largely a thing of the past." He was sure he'd mentioned that at least once before, during the first seven months when... but perhaps not, he admitted ruefully, remembering those days of sullen silence on his part with true regret. He added to be sure the demon-child understood now, "Except for under the most extreme circumstances, rest and sleep are now just luxuries, rather than necessities."

"As is eating human food, I know," Ciel said, trading his look of amazement for one of sad nostalgia as he looked down at his hands in his lap. "Actually, that's not even a luxury anymore…"

Sebastian knew exactly what he meant by that. His mind flashed back to that moment, mere hours after Ciel had awoken as a demon:

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After Sebastian had reluctantly pulled him up from the dark depths of the ocean, Ciel had said nothing about what his butler had done to him first: run a black-clawed hand right _through_ him, a move that surely would have killed him if he'd still been human, though the injury to his transformed body had instead healed in seconds.

Ciel had given him one wide-eyed, disbelieving stare, as the water between them had turned cloudy with his blood… but he'd said nothing since then to acknowledge the transgression. Indeed, the only words he'd spoken since that moment, said soon after reaching the surface, had been a quiet but firm "Take me home." And Sebastian had done so, in utter silence.

No words had been exchanged between them as he'd found the capsized skiff that had taken them to the demonic island, righted it, and rowed them through the misty veil between worlds back to a dock on the river Thames. No conversation had been made to pass the time as Sebastian bounded and soared across the rooftops of London under cover of darkness, then out into the countryside between London and the earl's vast estates, finally alighting well after midnight on the doorstep of Phantomhive Manor.

The manor's human servants were all abed, so no one came to greet them at the door, to welcome the young master home after such a long absence or inquire after his health and state of mind, and Sebastian said none of those things either. He simply and silently followed the boy upstairs, drew a bath for him, divested him of his drying and salt-stiffened attire, bathed him and then dressed him in a nightshirt. Only after he was dressed for sleeping did Ciel speak again, his voice almost startling after hours of silence: "I want tea. Fix me a cup of Darjeeling. And tea cakes; something made with strawberries."

Sebastian did not remind the young master that his usual nightcap was a cup of warm milk sweetened with honey, nor that the tea and cakes would be more apt to keep him awake than help him sleep; such words would be useless, and moreover pointless. So he silently bowed, went to the kitchen, prepared the requested tea and dishes with his usual speed, and returned to the earl's bedroom with the laden tea trolley.

Ciel sat waiting for him in his usual high-backed chair by the window, his pale skin and white nightshirt made silvery by the light of the moon shining in through the window behind him… and his new demon eyes glittering cerise in the shadows cast across his face. Sebastian made no comment on that either; he simply announced, "Portnum and Mason's Darjeeling second flush, as requested. And a Victoria sponge cake with strawberry jam and whipped vanilla cream." Then he waited as Ciel picked up the teacup, took a large appreciative sip—

And then promptly spat it out, staining the rug, before he turned an accusing glare on Sebastian and threw the teacup at him. "This isn't tea! That was the _worst_— What kind of trick are you trying to pull, demon?!"

His face expressionless, Sebastian caught the cup in midair, preventing it from breaking if not from getting tea spilled onto his uniform. He set the delicate cup down gently on the trolley while saying flatly, "I am not playing a trick on you, young master." He thought but did **not** say aloud, _If you want to know __**who **__has been tricked most cruelly, brat_…!

He gestured at the teapot as he continued, "What you asked for, you have received; Darjeeling tea, prepared in exactly the same manner as I have prepared it for the last three years. The difference is not in the tea; it is in you. That is an example of how human food tastes, to a demon."

Ciel had stared at him in wide-eyed dismay for a few moments before turning to the saucer on which an elegantly decorated sponge cake waited. He cut off a corner with his fork, lifted it to his mouth and closed his lips around it—

And moments later spat the barely-touched mouthful into his napkin with an expression of disgust. He set the napkin down and pushed the plate away, and then slumped over in his chair, looking unutterably sad…

And Sebastian said nothing, no words of comfort or solace for the boy who had just realized the loss of one of his greatest pleasures in life. After all, he reasoned, such words would not be truly sincere with all the resentment now burning in his black heart, and he was not permitted to lie.

But after nearly half a minute of silence, Ciel lifted his head again, his once more cerulean eyes glinting with determination. He said firmly, his voice a little too loud in the night, "You will still serve me tea in the morning, Sebastian. You are my butler, and you will fulfill all your normal duties as usual. Despite the changes, we will carry on."

Sebastian bowed, as that was clearly expected of him, but made no other response. But Ciel turned to the bed, evidently satisfied enough with just the servile bow; he set aside his eyepatch and slid under the covers without another word. Sebastian tucked him in, as was expected of him, and then blew out the candles and left the room in silence.

The next morning Sebastian did as he'd been ordered; he served the now-eternally-young master a cup of Earl Grey tea, and a dish of raspberry scones. The earl lifted the teacup to his lips, and then set it down without drinking a drop; cut into the scone with a fork, and broke it into pieces that never left the plate. And then he asked about the day's schedule.

The morning after that, Sebastian brought in the tea trolley, announced that he had prepared an Assam tea with shortbread biscuits… and then served the young master nothing but empty dishes; the tea and biscuits were still in the kitchen for the servants' breakfast. After all, he reasoned, such a blatant waste of food was against a butler's aesthetics.

Ciel looked in silence at the empty cup and the empty plate, and the blatant message they held for him. And then he brought the cup to his lips and sipped at thin air, touched his fork to the plate and dug into nothingness, all the while pretending to be oblivious to Sebastian's resentful glare. Then he very deliberately set the teacup down, turned to Sebastian with a face as expressionless as stone, and asked about the day's schedule.

Luncheon and afternoon tea were served in the same manner. Then in the late afternoon, Ciel spent some time alone in his study, the doors firmly closed to everyone else. Likewise, Sebastian firmly closed his hypersensitive ears against the soft sounds coming from behind those doors, reasoning that if the master wanted him, he would summon him directly.

The bell linking the study to the servants' quarters was not rung, nor was Sebastian's name spoken aloud to summon him. Instead, when Sebastian finally knocked on the door of the study at the usual time of 6:00pm to announce dinner (which would also be served with empty plates and goblets), the earl bid him enter, and then handed him a handwritten list of persons as well a rough draft for an announcement. A message that Sebastian would be expected to write out several times in his finest calligraphy, and deliver with appropriate tokens to those persons the next day: announcing the death of Ciel Phantomhive, died 26 August 1889, aged 13 years…

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Bringing his mind back to the present, Sebastian resolved once again that he would do _better_, he would make right the wrongs he had committed against Ciel in the past and make the boy _happy_ in his new life. And this might be another opportunity to do so, if the idea he'd had a few years ago while still desperately hunting stray souls to feed his little one, proved to be worthwhile. "My lord, since your reading is over, would you kindly excuse me for a few minutes?" he asked. "I would like to run an errand for you."

"An errand? For what?" as Ciel gave him a curious look.

He said easily, "I had thought that perhaps my lord would like to see a reasonably recent periodical from London, to get some idea of what has transpired in England these past seven years." That made a perfectly valid reason to leave the cottage for a bit, so he could run the errands he really had in mind. "But my lord, while I am gone, I implore you to _please_ stay within the cottage, and refrain from opening either the door or the windows. I've placed wards on this cottage to keep other demons and shinigami away, but their protection is temporarily disrupted whenever the door or windows are opened."

Ciel frowned but agreed, "All right; I'll refrain from going for a walk until your return. Contrasting views tend to give a more complete picture, so look for issues of both the _National Review_ and the _Commonweal…_ and _Punch_, if you can find it."

With another bow and a promise to return quickly, Sebastian stopped at the door and first _listened_ with all his power, extending his supernatural senses to feel for every being within a hundred yards of the cottage. After confirming that there were no reapers, angels or other demons in the vicinity, he opened the door and stepped out, so swiftly that the different sounds of opening and closing could hardly be distinguished from each other, and then sped off into the Paris afternoon.

First stop, the bookseller that stocked several international publications, including some of the most popular British fare. After making a few polite inquiries, he found that the Socialist-leaning _Commonweal_ was no longer being published, but its Conservative counterpart _National Review_ was still going strong; not surprising, considering the conservative political climate under Queen Victoria, or rather the imposter playing her part since he had put an end to the insane angel Ashrael's schemes. And of course the satirical magazine _Punch_ was as popular as ever; he purchased the two latest issues of that as well as the _National Review_, before heading off to the confectioner's.

There wasn't a lick of food in the cottage, not since Sebastian had emptied the pantry and given the contents away immediately after feeding the former owner's soul to his little one; demons didn't need human food, and it would only have served to attract vermin into their refuge. But now he bargained at the confectioner's shop to purchase a large square of the unsweetened baking cocoa they used, rather than any of the pastries and sweets on display. If his idea proved worthwhile, he would find a more direct source for purchasing the cocoa later.

With the large square of cocoa wrapped in paper and tucked under his arm with the magazines, he dashed off to first a housewares shop to purchase a common double boiler and a small glass jar with a lid, then to the River Seine to fill the bottom of the double boiler with water, and then finally to the Parc de la Villette, where Napoleon III had established the slaughterhouses that provided meat to all of Paris.

Perched in the concealing boughs of a tree across the street from the slaughterhouse dedicated to butchering pigs, he took a few minutes and just a touch of hellfire to heat the water in the bottom of the pot to a low simmer, more than enough to melt a broken-off portion of the bitter chocolate in the upper section. Then he produced a slim whisk from a pocket and, stirring vigorously, added water to the cocoa mass, enough to thin it into a proper liquid and keep it from solidifying again when it cooled from the melting point. Back at the manor he would have used milk for this step, and plenty of sugar to sweeten the concoction, but he was brewing to please a different palate now. Then he took the small glass jar, tucked his gloves into his pocket, and dashed inside and unseen to the pen where they kept the pigs awaiting slaughter.

He had learned almost by accident several centuries ago that pig's blood tasted and smelled somewhat like human blood, much more than any other domesticated animal. Human blood would of course taste best for what he had in mind, but would be much harder to obtain on a regular basis without attracting attention from the Parisian authorities. Whereas here… one quick and shallow slash with a claw, and he had all the blood he needed for flavoring his concoction; he filled the small jar and dashed back out while the boar was still squealing its pain and rage, long before the noise attracted a butcher to the pen.

Perched out of sight again, he stirred the blood into the chocolate, tasted—mmm, not bad, but perhaps another tablespoon's worth of blood—mmm, perhaps two—yes, that should do! Now to run the three kilometers back to their cottage at top speed, while it was still fresh and hot…

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Back in the cottage, Ciel had opened and started reading another book he'd noted on the shelf earlier, a French publication; Jules Verne had published another novel in his _Voyages Extraordinaires_ series, this one titled _Claudius Bombarnac_. He'd smiled wryly when he'd realized that the story was being narrated by a special correspondent who had been assigned to write about and find excitement for his newspaper's readers on a railway called the Grand Trans-Asiatic line. Such a correspondent would have found excitement aplenty on the last train ride Ciel had taken as the Queen's Watchdog!

He had just gotten to the end of the first chapter, with the train just pulling out of the station as an as-yet-unnamed German traveler flings himself aboard at the last possible instant, when the cottage door opened-closed so fast he almost missed it. Perhaps two seconds later, Sebastian appeared before him with a thin sheaf of magazines in one hand, and a teacup on a saucer in the other. He said with a smile as he presented the teacup, "My lord, I have procured two out of three of the periodicals you requested, but first I would greatly appreciate it if you would try this drink I've made for you, and tell me if you find it palatable. You may call it _Chocolat Chaud par Sebastian_, if I may be so bold as to name it."

Hot cocoa? Sebastian had found a way to make food tasty for him again?! Ciel eagerly accepted the cup of steaming brown liquid and brought it up to his nose to inhale the aroma—ahh, lovely! Different from what he remembered hot cocoa smelling like, but very good! What ingredient had been added to make that delightful scent?

"I would suggest you drink it quickly, my lord, rather than slowly savor it; this is best consumed while hot, and will not age well," Sebastian said apologetically. Trusting his butler, Ciel nodded and drank the hot cocoa, savoring the first mouthful for only a moment before downing it in three long, delightful swallows that warmed his innards far more than just physically. He sighed blissfully, and nodded as he held out the cup with a wordless gesture to refill it, which Sebastian promptly did. _Ahhh_, it was sheer _heaven_ to be able to enjoy sweets again…

Hm? But now his mouth felt different… He moved his tongue around, feeling with the tip, and realized his teeth had grown into _fangs_. When had Sebastian's fangs usually appeared in the past? He thought back…

"Sebastian?" he asked cautiously. "Is there _blood_ in this hot cocoa?"

"An astute observation, my lord!" Sebastian looked quite pleased with him, or possibly with his own cooking. "A large dollop of fresh pig's blood added to entirely unsweetened cocoa. The latter may be too bitter for a human's palate, but not to a demon's tastes; adding the blood makes it even more palatable. I would be quite happy to procure some from the Parc de la Villette establishments whenever you would like to indulge."

Well, blood from a pig that was soon to be bacon anyway was nothing to be concerned over. He downed the second cupful with enjoyment—the blood really did enhance the chocolate—and handed the empty cup back to his butler. "You may serve this to me in lieu of tea every morning," he said with a slowly growing smile. A hot drink to properly wake up to; finally, he could have back a little of the daily routine he so missed from his old life! "And feel free to experiment as you see fit with how this or similar concoctions can be made into cakes and pastries!"

"I can make no promises, my lord, but I shall do my very best in that regard," Sebastian said with a deep bow, still smiling. As he straightened up, he asked, "Would you prefer to read your periodicals now, while I shop for ingredients? Or would you prefer to take that walk you mentioned earlier?"

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Back when his little one had been human, Sebastian had taken a fair amount of pride in his hard-won skills in creating palatable tea, meals and sweets for him, when what a human considered delicious would make a demon gag in disgust. A lot of trial and error in following recipes had gone into those first few months of service, and a lot of food had been thrown back in his face, before he'd finally been able to consistently please the young earl at mealtimes.

There was considerably less pride to be had in this accomplishment, since he'd been able to rely on his own sense of taste to judge the drink before presenting it to his little one. But his pleasure was greater than his pride, because it was plain to see how such a simple thing made his Ciel so _happy_; that smile on his face was entirely unfeigned and unguarded, a sight that had been rare even back when he had been human. And really, the fangs only made his smile even cuter! It was a pity they were already receding back to human-looking teeth again.

But now Ciel wanted to go for a walk, so Sebastian fetched his customary eyepatch, coat, hat and walking stick, and together they stepped out into the late afternoon. Following at a servant's proper station of three steps behind, Sebastian smiled at the sight of his little lord striding confidently down the avenue, so full of life and purpose; it was a sight he'd dearly missed these last seven years. Though now his arms felt rather empty, after spending most of those same seven years carrying him everywhere they went in search of prey… Well, surely there would be other opportunities to carry him again.

Then Ciel paused, looked back at him, and beckoned for him to approach. Curious as to what he wanted, Sebastian took three steps to come abreast with him… and then Ciel began walking again, with a quick gesture to indicate he should walk alongside instead of behind. "It'll be easier to ask questions this way, if I happen to think of any," was all he said while looking straight ahead, with a hint of a blush dusting his cheeks.

"Of course, my lord," Sebastian agreed without bothering to hide his smile of amusement, and they continued to walk down the avenue side by side.

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They walked for a few hours, just enjoying the sights of Paris in the springtime; Sebastian subtly guided Ciel away from the grounds of Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, because he had spent entirely too much time on those paths in the last seven years, but the city had an assortment of parks and museum grounds for them to enjoy.

But far too soon, the sun was sinking to the western horizon and Sebastian gently guided Ciel back to the cottage; the hour for the demon's promised rendezvous with Grell Sutcliffe grew near. They owed an immense debt to the Grim Reaper for Ciel's return to the world of the living, so Sebastian would willingly meet with him for a night on the town, a night devoted entirely to Grell's pleasures and fancies… but being entirely willing to go through with it did _not_ mean he was entirely looking forward to it.

Ciel was not at all happy about the upcoming event, though he was prompt to agree that a promise made must be kept, and a good businessman always paid his debts. "But remember, he promised to stick to minor flesh wounds only," he growled as Sebastian made sure he was well situated with plenty of wood for the fire once more blazing in the fireplace, and plenty of reading material as well. "If he forgets himself in his depravities and starts inflicting more serious injuries, the deal is off and you can do as you please! And remember too, you may have promised to never hurt his face again, but technically speaking, those precious glasses of his aren't part of his face…"

Sebastian smiled down at him, touched by his concern and amused by his suggestion. "Quite the diabolical technicality, my lord! I shall keep it in mind." Then he took off his tie and hung up his tailcoat with a quiet, "Pardon my reduction in proper attire, but I would rather keep this from being ruined quite as thoroughly as I anticipate the rest of my clothing being ruined." He honestly expected to have not a stitch of clothing left intact before dawn; indeed, well before midnight.

Not that the prospect of being rendered nude actually bothered him, aside from it being a violation of a butler's aesthetics; _demonic_ aesthetics considered clothing to be entirely optional rather than a social necessity. He had once spent the better part of a century clothed in naught but shadows while in a prior master's service, and when not under contract for a soul, he shed or changed his demonic attire whenever the fancy struck him. He thought briefly of stripping completely and arriving at the rendezvous point stark naked, to spare his butler's uniform, but he was quite sure that Grell also wanted the pleasure of violently disrobing him.

As the sun touched the western horizon and started sinking below it, Sebastian paused at the cottage door to assure his little one, "I shall be back immediately after sunrise, my lord. And again, I would ask that you stay inside while I am away, and do nothing to violate the wards on the cottage. Our dining last night undoubtedly upset the local division of Reapers, with no less than eight of their precious cinematic records wrecked prior to collecting in the span of a few hours, and I sincerely doubt Grell made any real effort to cover for us."

Ciel frowned. "I presently have no plans for going anywhere tonight, but surely you are aware that I also have no fondness of _hiding_ like some child afraid of the dark."

"I am aware, my lord," as Sebastian bowed his head. "But please, for your humble servant's peace of mind... Tonight will be difficult enough to endure, without adding in worries for your safety." As he'd hoped would be the reaction, Ciel immediately capitulated and agreed to stay put. And with that, Sebastian bowed and slipped out of the cottage

He took a few moments to ensure the avoidance wards he had set on the cottage were still strong and covered the entire structure, while taking his gloves off and carefully tucking them into a recess just over the doorway that he'd noticed years ago, possibly where the cottage's previous owner had kept a spare key. Then it was off to the clearing in the cemetery where Ciel had finally awoken last night, the agreed rendezvous point. Being a demon, Sebastian felt no guilt whatsoever for manipulating his little lord with his words, particularly since it really was for Ciel's own good. His words had implied that he'd be suffering through every minute between sunset and sunrise, when the truth was that he had reasonable hopes of enjoying at least part of what Grell had in mind.

Sebastian far preferred doling out pain and punishment rather than being on the receiving end of same, so certainly a large part of the night would be unpleasant for him in the extreme; that redheaded maniac was even more fond of spilling others' blood than the average demon, which was really saying something. But judging by how the Reaper had behaved around his old boss William T. Spears, he also had a fairly wide masochistic streak; Sebastian might be granted the opportunity to inflict some pain on Grell as well, which he certainly would not object to.

And given the Grim Reaper's obvious proclivities, he would almost certainly _demand_ to be buggered at least once, likely several times before dawn. Grell was definitely _not_ Sebastian's preferred type of sex partner (either gender was acceptable to him, but his standards included _sanity_, and at least a hint of shyness—seducing, _tempting_ them into sex just added to his fun), but at least with a Death God's extremely hardy constitution, he wouldn't have to restrain himself in his pleasure for fear of damaging his partner. So the night need not be entirely miserable...

He arrived at the clearing just before the sun completely set, and waited.

And waited. And waited, and as he resisted drumming his fingers impatiently against his thigh (He could have stayed longer with Ciel if he'd known this would happen!) he wondered whether Grell had been caught by his superiors, had to finish reaping some souls first, or had just decided to be 'fashionably late'.

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Back inside the cottage, Ciel picked up _Claudius Bombarnac_ again, but then set it aside with a thoughtful glance towards the cottage's bedroom. Since Sebastian was away for the entire night, he could take advantage of the opportunity to sleep for a while. Given how attentive and anxious his butler was behaving, this might be the only opportunity he'd have to indulge without driving poor Sebastian into fits of the vapors, for at least the next few weeks.

Sleep... back when he'd been a small child, and spending far too much time in bed due to his asthma, sleep had been a way of passing the long boring hours while waiting for someone to bring him food or a new book to read or a deck of cards for a game. But during the months when he'd been healthy and hale, he'd tended to avoid the bed and delay his bedtimes as long as possible, until Tanaka would resort to bribing him with promises of a bedtime story from a foreign land.

Then when he'd been in The Cage... sleep had been his only respite from the horrors of what the cultists had done and were doing to him and the other children. He'd curl up in a corner of the cage and sleep on the bare and piss-stinking floor, though always with his ears open for the sound of anyone approaching his prison to inflict more torture.

Then he'd formed the contract with Sebastian, and he saw all his tormentors slaughtered for what they'd done to him. But for months afterward, sleep had been something to dread, to put off as long as possible; nightmares about what he had experienced would haunt his sleep on a regular basis. And even after he'd screamed himself awake, he'd be so terrified that Sebastian would have to stand sentry by his bed, to silently reassure him that he was safe, until he finally fell asleep again.

The nightmares had eventually faded, or at least greatly decreased in frequency, but he'd still regarded sleep as a grudgingly accepted necessity. There were never enough waking hours in the day to take care of everything that needed to be done as the Queen's Watchdog, as the owner and president of Funtom Company, and as a member of High Society. He would have worked from morning to well after midnight each day, if Sebastian had not always been there to persuade him to retire to bed at a reasonable hour.

Then after he'd been turned into a demon... Sleep had become his talisman, of sorts; a habit he clung to in order to stay human-like. He couldn't eat without gagging, he couldn't keep his eyes from turning cerise with slit pupils for even the span of an hour, but he could sink into the pillows and _sleep_ every night. Sleep, and dream; of cakes and tea and Lizzie's smiles and all that he'd been forced to give up. And dream of when Sebastian had smiled at him, and made little smart remarks that still sounded affectionate, and... In sleep, he could remember being—not _happy_, but somewhat content with what he'd made of his life—and pretend he felt that way again.

Now Sebastian was smiling at him again, and his clever butler had found a way for him to enjoy human food again, or at least one tasty treat. But he didn't want to give up sleeping, just because the rest of his life had suddenly and greatly improved. So he set the book back on the shelf, and rummaged in the small bedroom's chest of drawers until he found a nightshirt.

He took off his clothes and put on the nightshirt, being careful to get the buttons right this time. Once the nightshirt was successfully donned, he looked about for a laundry hamper to put his socks and underwear in. When he couldn't find one, he finally shrugged and put them in a tidy little pile next to the door; he'd ask Sebastian about the hamper later. Then he hung up his jacket, and tried to fold the shirt and trousers to put them back the way he had often seen them, when Sebastian pulled them out of his dresser drawers… but he still couldn't get it right.

He finally sighed and shook his head while surveying the haphazard pile of fabric, and draped the lot over the back of a chair. Maybe now that Sebastian seemed happy to be with him once more, he could ask about the elder demon properly teaching him how to do such things… or after what he'd said about being delighted to serve as his servant, guide and guardian, would Sebastian actually be _happier_ to keep doing all the household duties? Even after all these months—no, all these _years_, Ciel still didn't know how to make his butler happy. Though he'd certainly tried…

When Ciel had first been turned into a demon, after he'd realized how hopeless it would be to try to maintain his position in Society, he'd decided to fake his death and start a new life somewhere else with Sebastian. At first, it had seemed like a grand idea; no more expectations to live up to, no more duties required of him by the same monarchy that had destroyed his family and childhood. Lizzie would grieve for him, but she'd get over it, and then his dear cousin would have a chance to meet someone who could actually make her happy in life.

But it had taken only a few days of traveling with Sebastian, for him to see the disease already rotting away the core of his new existence: his servant was not just unhappy with their continued arrangement but _loathed every second of it_. Oh, Sebastian still followed orders and fulfilled a butler's duties, but only the absolute minimum required of him; there were no more little extras like there used to be, no efforts to actually please his master. And he never smiled anymore, not even the tiniest smirk; instead his expressions ranged between _sullen_ and _disgusted_.

Only then did Ciel realize that what he wanted from Sebastian—indeed, what he'd always wanted—wasn't just service, but _companionship_. Someone to stay by his side, someone who understood him without judging him, someone who both challenged him to do his best and discreetly comforted him when he fell short… For over three years, Sebastian had been his companion as well as his servant, but Ciel had taken that loyalty for granted until it was too late.

Sebastian was extremely unhappy, but Ciel had no idea how to fix it. Freeing him from the contract would probably do it—but that was the one thing Ciel could not do. In part because he had no idea of the process involved in terminating a demonic contract, and in part because Ciel just _could not _face life as a demon alone; even the very thought of it made him freeze up inside.

So, he'd tried to show Sebastian that he valued the demon for _himself_, not just the service he provided. He had asked Sebastian what would make him happy, and the demon had replied bluntly, "Being free of this cursed, neverending contract. Not having to wait hand and foot on a spoiled brat anymore." So Ciel had started doing more things for himself, rather than relying on Sebastian for every mundane task. Or at least, he tried to do more for himself. He would run his own baths and wash himself, put on his own clothes, make his own bed in the morning—and nearly every time, Sebastian would come in afterwards with a contemptuous look and then redo most of what Ciel had done in the blink of an eye, far too fast for Ciel to see how to do it right.

When trying to relieve Sebastian of some chores didn't work, Ciel had tried other things to make Sebastian happy. He started treating him more as an equal, paying him compliments for the work he still did, and asking his opinion on whatever matters they stumbled across in their travels. But Sebastian's responses were curt and biting, actively discouraging conversation, and Ciel soon fell miserably silent again.

Then he'd tried to get Sebastian to indulge in luxuries. Sweet pastries and other food were right out, obviously, but what about music? Sebastian could play the violin like an angel (no insult intended), so he liked music, right? They began attending musical events taking place in whatever city they were in, concerts and operas and the like, but none of it put a smile on the elder demon's face.

Then Ciel remembered Sebastian saying once that demons considered sleep a luxury; one that he'd scarcely ever had time to indulge in while serving as the Phantomhive butler, with all the work that Ciel had piled on him to keep the household running smoothly. So now that his duties were so greatly reduced, Ciel had told Sebastian to sleep whenever he himself slept. Surely being able to indulge in such a luxury every night would make him happy, right? Since it was the only thing currently making _Ciel's_ life bearable…

When Sebastian had dryly pointed out that their hotel rooms typically had only one bed in them, Ciel had replied (keeping his tone as airy as possible, fighting down the nervous tremors) that he didn't mind sharing a bed, so long as Sebastian didn't hog the blankets. And so they'd begun bedding down together every night. But Sebastian always stayed firmly on his side of the bed, never gave even a hint of invitation to Ciel for cuddling or… _more_, and when the sun rose each morning the elder demon's mood was unchanged, as sullen and resentful as ever.

In sheer desperation, Ciel had even tried to get Sebastian a cat for a pet; the elder demon had always been crazy for cats, so surely having a cat of his own to cuddle whenever he pleased, would make him happy again. Ciel had never liked cats and still didn't, but since his new body wasn't allergic to them anymore, he'd willingly tolerate having one around if it made Sebastian happy. They'd been in Florence, Italy at the time; Ciel had left their hotel and started prowling the alleys of that picturesque city, looking for a suitable cat to surprise his companion with.

But that hadn't worked out either. All the cats that flocked around them when he was with Sebastian, gave him a wary stare and kept their distance when he was walking out alone. And whenever he tried to approach them, they laid their ears back and hissed before scurrying away.

He had finally resorted to trapping one, cornering it in a dead-end alley and scooping it up when it tried to dash past him, but it had fought back viciously with screeching hisses, with fangs and all four clawed paws. And when one of its swipes had actually drawn blood, even though the deep scratch had healed in seconds, Ciel had hissed back and swatted the beast to reprimand it—and accidentally crushed its skull to a bloody pulp.

It had taken two panicked and fully-clothed dips in the _Fiume Arno,_ frantically scrubbing at his clothes with a brush he'd snatched while running to the river, before he was sure he'd gotten all the dead cat's blood off him and it was safe to return to Sebastian again, with a lame cover story about having fallen in.

By the time their travels had brought them back to Paris, Ciel still had no idea how to make Sebastian happy. The only thing he had figured out over the last seven months, was that he was hopelessly in love… with someone who had never wanted him for more than the human soul he didn't have anymore. He'd finally decided that if the only thing that could make his beloved demon happy was to be free of the contract, but Ciel still couldn't bear to free him from that contract while he lived, then it was time to find out how a newly-turned demon could die…

But now, through some miracle he wasn't about to question too deeply, Sebastian was smiling and happy with him again. So perhaps in the morning, after the obligatory night with Grell Sutcliff, they could talk over hot cocoa about whether Sebastian would honestly prefer to keep doing all the household duties, or to teach the no-longer-an-earl how to do them himself. With that thought in mind, Ciel headed for the cottage's miniscule bathroom, to wash his face and brush his teeth before bed.

And ten seconds later, he _screamed_.

_To be continued!_


	3. Panic Attacks and Painting the Town Red

**MOVING FORWARD**

**Chapter 3: Panic Attacks and Painting the Town Red**

_Author's note: Since Grell Sutcliffe, while physically male, apparently self-identifies as female, all scenes given from Grell's POV will use the pronouns 'she' and 'her' in reference to the Grim Reaper, while all scenes from Ciel or Sebastian's POV will use the pronouns 'he' and 'him'. I still think Grell is deviant as allhellandgone for the bloodlust if nothing else, but I do try to respect the transgender among us. But the same can't be said for Ciel and Sebastian, Ciel because Victorian society as a whole was rather willfully obtuse on a lot of gender-related issues, and Sebastian apparently has his own reasons._

_Also, this chapter contains reference to a few elements of manga canon that were never spelled out in the anime series, but which would certainly fit into the anime canon._

* * *

Grell spent a few moments more getting her nails and makeup just _perfect_, and brushed out her hair one last time to give it extra body before tucking a perfect red rose behind her ear. Then, barely holding back her giggles of giddy anticipation, she headed out for her date with Sebastian. She'd been waiting _**so long**_ for this, had begun to despair that it would never happen, but she was finally going to have him all to herself for one glorious night on the town together!

When she arrived in the clearing that they'd agreed on for the rendezvous, she found Sebastian waiting for her, having taken off his tailcoat, tie and gloves (dressed for action! _Ooh-la-la_!), but with a sour expression on his face. "You're late," he informed her as she touched down before him.

"Only fashionably late, Bassy darling!" she protested. "After all, it takes time to look this fabulous!" Then she tapped under his chin with one perfectly manicured nail as she chided him, "Now come, you know how a gentleman should behave; let's have a smile for your date on this lovely evening!"

"Since you specifically request it," Sebastian said rather grudgingly, but then he gave her _such_ a seductive smile, enough to get any girl's panties wet—

And then his eyes went wide with alarm as he abruptly lost the smile—

Just before he took off running through the cemetery, so fast that she wouldn't have even known which way he'd gone if not for the swath of broken shrubbery and toppled tombstones he was leaving in his wake. "Oh, no you _don't_!" Grell growled as she ran after him; after waiting nearly a _decade_ for this night, she was _not _going to let him run out on her now!

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

"_No! Sebastian! Noooo!"_ That horrified scream still echoed in Sebastian's ears as he ran at full speed through the cemetery, not caring what was in his way; he had to save his Ciel! But who had attacked the cottage?! Some other Grim Reaper that was upset over the souls they'd eaten last night, or a rival demon looking to claim his territory?

_Whoever it is, they'll die for daring to even threaten my Ciel!_ he snarled to himself, shedding his human guise in favor of his true and far more lethal form as he cleared the last hundred meters. He barreled through the cottage door with fangs and claws bared, ready to annihilate—

But all he found inside the cottage was Ciel, wearing a nightshirt and stumbling around while clutching at his face.

After a lightning-fast search of the cottage to find the threat—he even looked under the bed, up the chimney and down the loo, but found nothing—he resumed his human guise and swiftly gathered Ciel into his arms. "I'm here, little one! What happened; where's the threat?!"

But all he could get out of Ciel was incoherent sobbing as the boy-demon latched onto him with a vicelike grip; the only words he could make out amidst the sobs were "_Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone!_"

"Never; I'll never leave you!" he vowed before tipping his face back enough to see the wounds there, claw-marks on his brow and under his right eyelid—something had tried to take out his right eye! He frantically kissed and licked the wounds away, and while they were mending he blurted out, "Ciel, who hurt you?! Who do I kill?!" But Ciel didn't answer, only clung to him tighter in response.

And then, to Sebastian's mounting horror, he heard _Grell'_s voice coming from behind him, saying nonchalantly, "A nice enough place, but the color scheme's rather drab." He spun about to see the Grim Reaper surveying the living room and commenting, "You really need some red accents, to brighten it up a little… maybe a nice scarlet throw rug?"

_How_ had the Reaper gotten—Sebastian cursed himself as he realized that he'd broken the wards on the cottage himself, with his frantic entrance! And now he couldn't put Ciel behind him to protect him, the boy's grip around his waist just could not be budged without seriously hurting him… So he had to make do with brandishing one hand at the Reaper, each claw turned into a meter-long blade that gleamed black in the firelight as he snarled, "_**Leave now, or die now**_**!**"

The Reaper backed up a pace and raised his hands in surrender, but didn't leave them be; instead he just frowned indignantly and said, "Really, Bassy, it's not like I'm here to hurt the brat!"

"You did before; you killed his aunt, right in front of his eyes!" Sebastian reminded him with fangs bared, though he pulled back the claws for the moment.

Grell's frown only grew deeper. "Oh, don't tell me you're _still_ upset about that? It's been _over_ _eight years,_ Bassy! And really, I did it almost as a final kindness to her, since it was obvious our game was over. Better a quick clean death by my scythe, than being dragged through the mire of the mortals' legal system and then strangling at the end of a noose!"

That gave Sebastian pause for a moment, to consider: if Grell had not killed Madam Red…

The demon had seen enough of British legal proceedings to know that if the mortal half of 'Jack the Ripper' had been captured and brought to trial, the courts and the press would have _made mincemeat_ of her. A member of the 'gentler sex' who killed, and not just the usual case of a wife snapping after years of abuse and killing her family? The sensationalism of the case would have spread beyond England to the Continent, and possibly to the farthest corners of the British Empire. And every single facet of what had made Angelina Durless the fascinating woman she had been, would have been not just exposed but publicly reviled.

The Durless name would have indeed been dragged through the mud, stained beyond all redeeming. And because of their close association, the Phantomhive name would have been publicly blackened as well, even though his master had been the one to stop her. And then, yes, either death by hanging, or lifelong imprisonment in an insane asylum… to which death would frankly be preferable. In killing her first, Grell had not only spared Madame Red considerable anguish, but saved the Phantomhive reputation as well.

Now that he thought of it, he realized that Ciel might well have come to the same conclusion on his own, years ago; it made for a more plausible explanation as to why his young master had made fewer objections than Sebastian himself, on later situations when Grell had involved himself in their affairs. In the past, Sebastian had chalked it up to his little master trying again to prove that he could be as coldly practical and ruthless as a demon, but…

But Sebastian still had one objection to what Grell had done: "It was done right in front of my little one's eyes! She was nearly his last living kin, and he had nightmares over it for weeks afterwards!" A fact he knew well, since he'd had to rouse the boy from those nightmares before he screamed the other servants awake, and deliver a total of eleven cups of warm sweetened milk to soothe him back to sleep over the next few weeks.

"Oh, _please_!" as Grell rolled his eyes and flailed a red-gloved hand in dismissal. "Would you really have turned him around or taken him out of the alley to spare him the sight, if I'd given you fair warning first? No, you'd have tried to prevent it, since he'd told you before to not kill her, because she was 'nearly his last living kin' and all that. But here, _just_ to make you happy…" the Reaper leaned forward and spoke slowly and quite condescendingly to the back of Ciel's head, as the boy still shuddered against Sebastian's waistcoat. "Hey, Brat, _I'm sorry_ she had to die right in front of your eyes like that. Okay? Now, what's got you in such a state tonight?"

Sebastian gave the Reaper one more glare for such a paltry and blatantly insincere apology, before ignoring him to focus on his little lord. "What _has_ gotten you in such a state, little one? I didn't find any threat, but I swear to you that you're safe now," as he tipped the boy's head back again and gently brushed the hair out of Ciel's eyes, the better to look into them with reassurance—

Only for his hand to be seized, twisted by the wrist and stared at in horror, as Ciel whispered brokenly, "No… no, please…"

What about his hand was so… _oh_. Sebastian's heart sank as he realized that Ciel must have gone into the bathroom and looked in the cottage's only mirror, and discovered that the mark of their contract was gone from his right eye. And from Sebastian's left hand as well; there was only a faint trace of it remaining, barely discernable even to his keen eyesight.

He'd _intended _to have a long and serious discussion with the boy earlier, about the contract and what they would do now, but they'd been having _such_ a wonderful day and Ciel had been _smiling_, and he just hadn't gotten around to it before sunset and… He'd been careful to keep his gloves on while they were together; why hadn't he thought to hide the mirror before leaving?! Now it was too late to soften the blow, too late for anything but the hardest of truths, which he sadly declared: "It's been that way for the last seven years, little one; since the night you tried to free me by committing suicide."

"Suicide?!" Grell exclaimed, but Sebastian barely heard him and certainly didn't care what the Reaper thought; all his focus was on his Ciel, as he reassured him, "But I don't need a contract to stay by your side, Ciel!"

But the boy refused to believe him, wailing, "No! Everyone leaves, they betray me, they die! Without the contract, the control, I—you'll start hating me again for not having a soul you can eat, and then you'll leave me too, and _I can't face this alone_!" he grabbed fistfuls of Sebastian's shirt, accidentally tearing it to shreds as he stared into the elder demon's eyes and openly begged, "Please, just kill me before you leave! Just get it over with; kill me now!"

Shocked and appalled at how unhinged his little one was rapidly becoming, Sebastian could only stare down at him and sputter, "I can't do that!" And when Ciel's hands let go of his shirt to start clawing at _his own neck_, Sebastian seized them before those black nails could do more than break the skin. "And I won't let you kill yourself, either! Don't do that to me again, Ciel!"

"Then _I need a contract_! Something I _know_ will always be there, always keep you with me, something—what can I offer you now? I know my soul's worthless now, but what about my body?! I'll do anything, please, _anything_! I—"

_**SPLOOOSH!**_

And Ciel's hysterical pleadings abruptly turned into wordless indignant sputtering, after Grell emptied a bucket of cold water right over his head.

Sebastian's attire was soaked as well, but he only made absent note of it as he watched Ciel become _Earl Phantomhive_ again, the proud young aristocrat glaring daggers at the Grim Reaper as the latter asked, "Had enough? Ready to calm down and be sensible again?"

It occurred to Sebastian that there was something decidedly _wrong_ with a world in which _Grell Sutcliffe _was telling someone to calm down and be sensible…

Grell continued as he let the bucket drop to the floor with a clatter, "Just in case you weren't listening earlier, Brat, Bassy-chan said that contract's been gone for over seven years! Seven years that he spent carrying you everywhere, keeping you safe and feeding you every soul he could sneak away with, even though he was starving himself! For demons, that much loyal behavior without a contract is_ utterly unheard of_, but he did it all for you! So after all that, he's hardly about to leave you now that you're finally walking, talking and being his little lordling again!"

The Reaper threw his hands in the air for emphasis as he declared, "Why, at least half the Reapers I know aren't as dedicated to their jobs _or_ their spouses, as darling Bassy is obviously dedicated to you! But now you want a contract again on top of all that? How insecure can you _get_, Brat?"

"Kindly address me by my _name_, Mr. Sutcliffe, unless you'd prefer I address _you_ by an appropriately pejorative term," Ciel said icily. But then he turned back to Sebastian and asked almost timidly, "But… he's right? You'll stay with me?"

"Yes, my lord… my Ciel," Sebastian said softly as he hugged him close again, using a touch of sorcery to dry them both off in the process. They spent several seconds just holding each other, now that the worst of the crisis was over… the worst of it, but Sebastian knew it wasn't truly over yet.

After watching them in silence for a few moments, Grell sighed, "I'm not going to be able to pry you apart again tonight, am I?"

"No," Sebastian said simply. "Give us one more night, Grell… please."

"Oh, _fine_," Grell huffed. "I'll put off our date for one more night, so you two can have a good long talk and a good long rogering, and whatever else it takes to settle him down again. But I expect you to be in that clearing again tomorrow at sunset, Bassy! And as for you, _Ciel_," and that name had never been spoken more condescendingly, "I expect you to behave yourself tomorrow night, and not start screeching for Bassy to come save you from a nasty spider, or scrub your back for you, or give you a blow job, or—"

"_Enough_, you pervert!" Ciel snapped as he abruptly let go and struggled free of Sebastian's embrace. He faced Grell with anger and indignation in every line of his small body as he demanded, "How dare you even— Is it really impossible for you to imagine two people caring for each other, without assuming they're… physically intimate?"

Grell gaped at the lad for an instant before he began giggling, "You're blushing almost as pink as your eyes, Brat! Who ever heard of a demon who can't even say 'sex' out loud? Come on, it's just one syllable: _sss-eh-cks_! How in the world can the little once-an-earl who was the Queen's Watchdog, used to traipsing all over the lowest parts of London and consorting with people who make even _me_ look modest, be such a prude about sex? Acting like just the word itself is going to hurt you, let alone…" The Grim Reaper's voice trailed off, as he stared at Ciel's face.

Sebastian couldn't see Ciel's expression, since the boy-demon was facing away from him, but he had a hunch that the evening's emotional upheavals had so upset Ciel's equilibrium that he could no longer mask whatever he was feeling as well as he normally did. And whatever was in Ciel's expression, had Grell covering his mouth as his eyes went wide in dismay. "Oh…" the Reaper's voice was muffled by the glove but clear enough as he continued, "Oh, Ciel, I'm so sorry! I didn't know… It happened before you first made your contract, didn't it? Because I know Bassy would _never_ let anyone do that to you, ever."

Only the fact that Grell was being so openly sympathetic at the moment, and the knowledge of how much they owed him still, kept Sebastian from throwing him not just out of the cottage but clear out of Paris. How _dared_ that Reaper stir up the memories of one of the many ways Ciel had suffered under the hands of those depraved cultists that had held him captive?!

Sebastian longed to hold the boy close once more and assure him that he would indeed never let that happen to him again, but he didn't dare touch him now. He remembered too well all the times Ciel had woken screaming from nightmares of that torment, particularly during the first few months of their contract; how the boy would desperately need Sebastian to stand guard next to his bed until he fell asleep again, in wordless assurance that he was safe now, but even more desperately shriek "Don't touch me!" and shrink away from even the most platonic gesture of comfort.

"…Correct," Ciel finally growled, his tiny body trembling with fury and other emotions. "_Now drop the subject, Grell._"

"All right," Grell said quietly, looking more subdued than Sebastian had _ever_ seen him before, and that included their first meeting when he'd been pretending to be a typical mortal butler for Madame Red. "And… I'm sorry for just assuming that your relationship with Bassy included sex."

"Well, it doesn't," Ciel growled as he turned away from both Grell and Sebastian, stalking towards the bookcase. "And it never will!" And with that, he grabbed a book from the shelf with hands that trembled only slightly, and flung himself into the closest overstuffed chair to begin reading it.

Sebastian's heated _glare_ burned away the sympathy that was nearly pouring from Grell's gaze as the Reaper turned towards him, and spurred the man through the door and outside possibly faster than a physical push would have done. The elder demon followed him out, and gave only a curt nod of acknowledgment to Grell's quiet goodbye and tentative reminder of the next night, while he set about repairing the door he'd broken in his frantic entrance earlier.

Once the door was completely restored, looking as if it had never been broken down at all, he took some time to restore and reinforce the avoidance wards that covered the cottage, that made it a refuge that accepted only himself and Ciel inside. And all the while he pondered, with silent dismay, what Ciel had said to end his and Grell's conversation: _Well, it doesn't. And __**it never will!**_ He hadn't thought that Ciel would be so strongly averse to including sex in their new relationship…

He still remembered the boy's words from that last night Before; the night Sebastian had been such an utter _**Idiot**_ for not seeing the signs so clearly laid before him of what Ciel was about to do for his sake. Ciel had asked rather timidly, "Sebastian? I wondered if you might like to sleep with me." And when the elder demon had brusquely reminded him that they shared a bed for sleeping every night, he'd clarified, "I meant the other kind of 'sleep with me,' I thought it might... make you less angry."

But Sebastian had refused, rejected Ciel out of his anger-driven desire to make the boy _suffer_ in the only way their contract, which compelled him to physically protect his young master from all harm, would allow him to inflict suffering. And for over seven years, after waking the next morning to find Ciel's still cold form in the bathtub, he had bitterly regretted not taking him up on that offer.

But now, for the first time, he was retroactively glad he had not done so. Sebastian had to admit to himself that if he had taken the boy's offer of sex that night, while still bitterly hungry and angry over being denied the feast of Ciel's human soul, he would _not_ have been gentle or kind. He would have made it clear in every way he could that the demon-child was nothing but contemptible trash, worthless except for how he could be physically used... And Sebastian would have been no better than the cultists that he had once slain at Ciel's command. The cultists that the demon had silently wished he could kill all over again, every time he'd had to stand guard over Ciel after one of those nightmares.

Rather than having found a reason to continue living, Ciel might well have still committed suicide later that night... and then when finally, fully revived—if the boy could even have been revived! If he had, then upon awaking at last, Ciel would have _rejected_ Sebastian as much as the elder demon fully deserved. The platonic happiness, the gentle _joy_ in being alive and together again that they'd shared in the last twenty-four hours, would never have occurred.

Earlier that day, while they'd been enjoying an afternoon walk through Paris in springtime, Sebastian had quietly been making plans for himself and his little lord. First, pay the debt owed and get the night with Grell out of the way. Next, conduct some kitchen experiments with blood and bitter chocolate as well as flour and other baking ingredients, and see if he could come up with a few tasty treats to entice a demon-child that had had a surfeit of souls. Then, lure Ciel into the bedroom, not to sleep—no, not for a _very_ long while yet!—But to take him up on that long-ago offer, and engage in mutual pleasures of the flesh. But now, after what Ciel had just said...

"_I know my soul's worthless now, but what about my body?! I'll do anything, please, anything_!" Sebastian sadly shook his head as those recently spoken words echoed in his ears again. That had plainly been the motivation behind Ciel's offer seven years ago, as well; sheer desperation to please him, instead of physical desire or any true attraction for Sebastian's male form. If he took advantage of that desperation...

Demonic aesthetics were not human aesthetics. They often found beauty in death and violence, and in cruelties perfectly perpetrated. But what Sebastian felt for Ciel, superseded even his aesthetics. Abaddon help him, it might even be that thing called _love_ that humans so highly prized. Sebastian still wanted Ciel's sweet, lithe and comely little body, but _not_ at the expense of his unique spirit.

So: no sex, not even when they resumed sharing a bed for sleep at night. Sebastian's control over his human form was quite thorough; he could cuddle with Ciel to comfort him, even if the boy were stark naked instead of clothed in a nightshirt or pyjamas, and keep an erection from forming even when his libido was silently slavering for it. In another few decades, after Ciel's wounded psyche had plenty of time to heal, he might start giving little hints and suggestions about adding new activities to their relationship; hints that he'd make it clear Ciel could ignore or refute if he chose, in the gentlest seduction Sebastian had ever done in all his millennia. But for now, _platonic_ was the order of the day. Having fixed the door and the wards as well as his resolve, Sebastian returned inside.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Ciel had a book in his hands, but had no idea what he was reading. He tried, but at the moment he just couldn't focus on the words; he kept... _**Damn**_ that Grell Sutcliffe! Curse him in every way possible, for making Ciel remember so much that he'd wanted to forget forever!

Hands on him everywhere, grabbing and scratching and pulling and then a far worse pain, a tearing agony like he was being split in two... and their voices, hissing _Shut up and take it, boy... Oh look, are those tears?... Yes, scream all you like, no one here cares... Scream for me, little slut_...

Slut, and worse. The despicable things they'd called him, over and over as they'd used and abused him, until he was almost at the point of believing they were right. Almost, but not quite; he'd held on through that stubborn and indomitable will of his, part of that which had first called Sebastian to him, that which utterly refused to be brought so low...

Until that night. Until the being he'd somehow grown to _love,_ to care about enough to finally and willingly offer his body to him, had told Ciel to his face, _I'd sooner sodomize a dog in the street_. Had said that while their contract was still in place, and forbidding him from lying to his master; Sebastian could omit the truth, could twist his words this way and that to mislead, but _he could not lie_. The ancient demon really was so disgusted by the thought of having sex with him that he'd rather do it with an animal that they both knew he despised.

That had been the final blow for what little had remained of Ciel's self-esteem, the scraps that had not already been destroyed by his repeated failures to make Sebastian happy over the last seven months. After that, each slash he'd made with the razor in the bathtub had brought almost as much relief as pain; relief that there would be no more rejection, no more of anything...

But now, somehow there _was_ more; for some reason Sebastian had decided he wanted Ciel around after all, wanted to stay with him at least in a platonic fashion, even though there could be no reward of a tasty human soul afterwards. Even though he— And Ciel was abruptly drawn from his painful memories by the sound of the cottage door opening, and Sebastian coming quietly inside.

A barely audible sound of throat-clearing as a gentle reminder of his presence, just as Sebastian had done countless times back when Ciel had been human and an earl and his master, and then an equally gentle, "Would my lord perhaps care for some more _Chocolat Chaud par Sebastian_?"

"...You shouldn't call me that anymore," as Ciel shut the book, giving up all pretense of reading, and set it aside to sadly regard him.

"And why not?" as Sebastian drew close and crouched beside his chair, to look him in the eyes with what seemed like genuine worry in the demon's gaze.

"Because I'm not! Not an earl anymore, and not your master either, now that the contract is gone."

"It's not gone entirely, little one; a faint trace of it remains," his former butler informed him while showing the back of his hand, though Ciel saw nothing there but pale unmarked flesh. "Enough that I can hear it when you call for me, as you did earlier. Though that call cannot contractually compel me anymore, I can still hear it, and I can—and _will—_choose to respond."

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Sebastian saw Ciel's deep gloom lift a little at his words, so he continued, "As for what I should call you, if you'll think back over the last night and day, not once in that time have I ever called you or referred to you as my master. But I still call you 'my lord' because it's a term you're used to, and that I'm used to as well... I believe it has become a term of endearment," as he gave one of his old knowing smirks, and was pleased to see a corner of Ciel's mouth turn upwards in response.

"Well, if you think of it that way, then I suppose I can't really stop you," Ciel said airily, though that did little to hide his relief at keeping the familiar title.

"Indeed," Sebastian agreed. "Now, the hot cocoa?"

After a moment of hesitation, Ciel said quietly and very seriously, "I would like some, but only if you make some for yourself, too. We need to talk, about... about the future."

Sebastian agreed, because they really did need to talk, and because there was just enough bitter chocolate left from that day's purchase to make his concoction for the two of them. After another quick trip out to the slaughterhouse, he had the fresh pig's blood he needed, and in a few minutes they were both sitting in front of the fire and enjoying the demon's drink.

They finished their hot cocoa at nearly the same time, and set their cups on the little side table together. Then Ciel seemed to brace himself and took a deep breath to start, but Sebastian beat him to it with a soft, "If I may go first... Yesterday, I apologized for the utterly horrid way I treated you after you had been turned demon against your will. Tonight, I must apologize for not telling you sooner that your dire solution for terminating our contract, basically succeeded. I should not have left you to find out on your own, and in quite so harsh a fashion."

"It's all right," Ciel mumbled, looking down at his hands. "And I... I must apologize to you, for behaving so irrationally and unseemly earlier, especially in front of a guest." He blushed as he spoke, and then covered his face with his hand so the next words came out muffled. "To think that _Grell Sutcliffe_ had to tell me to calm down...!"

Sebastian had to chuckle a little as he admitted, "I did find that quite ironic. But now that apologies about past behavior are done and over with, let us discuss the future. Little one, I am aware of how very much you rely on me, and I assure you again, I will not leave you now or in the future. But I also know how much you desire _certainties_; on things you can control to some extent. Since we both know that the standard contract of soul-for-service is unfeasible now, what surety can I give you that I mean to keep my word to you?"

"I don't know," was all Ciel could say in response, looking very small and miserable. But after a few moments, he donned a more thoughtful expression as he murmured, "Maybe if we made an agreement that I can believe in more easily..."

It _stung_, deeper than Sebastian would ever admit to, that his dear little Ciel didn't have enough faith to simply believe that Sebastian would stay with him without a contract. But then, the ancient demon's behavior in those first seven months would hardly have inspired such trust in anyone. And Ciel simply hadn't witnessed Sebastian's behavior for the last seven years; the boy only had his and Grell's word to go on. So he said only, "What sort of agreement would that be?"

"When we had a full contract, you were my servant and bodyguard, but for those first few months after making the deal you were also my tutor in all the subjects I needed to learn in order to become a successful earl and the head of my house, as well as the Queen's Watchdog." Ciel's voice became stronger as he talked, and his spine straightened as well, until it was _Earl Phantomhive_ and not a sad little boy sitting in that chair, looking Sebastian straight in the eye as he suggested, "Instead of my servant, become my tutor again; be my guide as well as my guardian, teaching me everything that I might need to know in order to live as a demon. You could protect me and teach me for a set number of years—just how many, I'll let you decide. But the agreement will last until that time is up or until both you and I are sure that I can survive and even thrive on my own, whichever comes first."

Sebastian smiled, not his usual smirk but a genuine smile of happiness as he replied, "That is an excellent idea, my lord!" Indeed, it very nearly mirrored Sebastian's own thoughts on how they would occupy the next few centuries.

"But it's only half of the proposal," Ciel said, looking solemn. "It's quite obvious what I'll get from such a deal, but what will you receive in return? You have to get something; a business contract without even the intention of benefit for both parties is null and void from the start."

Yes, his little lord was a businessman through and through. And if they'd been having this discussion even an hour earlier, Sebastian would have been quick to respond with a smirking, _Why, I'll get your sweet little body instead of your soul_. But now he thought carefully before answering, "What I'll receive isn't quite so obvious, but I can assure you, I will find it beneficial. I will have the pleasure of your demonic companionship, and of teaching you as well."

Ciel frowned and shook his head. "But that's hardly worth-"

"Oh, that's worth far more than you think," Sebastian was quick to interrupt him with an admonishing wag of his finger. "And if you were a typical demon, with several centuries of experience under your claws, you'd understand why already. Instead, let me give you an example to explain: I am very old by your human standards, Ciel. Very old indeed; my existence even predates the very last of the Egyptian pyramids that were built. I've seen human cities and cultures rise and fall, and be utterly forgotten by their fellow mortals. I've seen and experienced a great deal... And yet, tonight was the very first time I have ever enjoyed a simple cup of hot cocoa," as he gestured at the empty cups on the side table.

Ciel looked startled. "Really?"

"Indeed! Before I came to serve you, I would never have even imagined such a thing as making a human drink to please a demon's palate. Even though I was already well acquainted with human food; in the past I'd made entire feasts appear on the spot for starving beggars and kings alike, and watched them declare everything delicious."

Now Ciel looked openly skeptical. "But that first feast you made for me tasted horrible!"

Sebastian gave him a reproving glare as he retorted, "You _would_ have enjoyed it if you hadn't been fed nothing but a watery gruel for the last month, until your system simply couldn't handle such an abundance of sweet and savory delights! _That_ was the only mistake I made in creating that first feast; not realizing that sooner and starting you off with much lighter fare. But by the time I realized it, you had already stomped away from the table and off to bed, and it was all I could do just to persuade you to accept the most basic human fare of all, warm milk."

"With honey," Ciel added, a small smile on his face. "But you certainly made a lot of mistakes with food after that..."

"Only because you i_nsisted_ that I make food the human way, from basic ingredients and recipes, instead of simply using sorcery as I'd always done before. And now that you have a demon's sense of taste, you surely know _why_ those first attempts to cook and follow recipes were so disastrous," Sebastian said sternly, and waited for Ciel's reluctant nod before continuing on. "But I _did_ learn, just as you learned skills under my tutelage. To master the art of cooking and preparing food as humans do, was the greatest challenge I'd had in centuries! And there is little that an ancient and frankly bored demon likes more than a true challenge."

Sebastian let all his fondness show in his voice and eyes as he finished, "My lord, in the past you have both charmed and aggravated me to no end, but above all else, those first few years with you were anything but boring."

Ciel half-smiled in response. "Is that so?"

"Very much so. You challenged me in ways I'd never even considered before, and more than once caused me to see things in a different way than I'd come to see them in centuries past. I formed that contract with you anticipating nothing more than a good meal at its end, but in time, the service itself began to be rewarding. Your circumstances are quite different now, but I am quite sure that you'll be presenting me with new challenges in the future, new perspectives that will make this eternal existence interesting once more. That is part of what I referred to when I said I would have the pleasure of your company."

There was more to it than that, but Sebastian didn't try to explain the rest to Ciel. How could he, when he didn't really understand it himself? How could he explain how, in the midst of serving such an intriguing and often _infuriating_ young master, Sebastian had somehow found himself valuing the boy for far more than just the inevitable feast of his soul? So much so that he had even pondered the idea of choosing to keep Ciel with him as a living companion, after they were finally done with that Trancy debacle—keep him as a _pet _of sorts, for a decade or two before finally making a meal of him—until that bitch-demon Hannah Annafellows had taken all such choices from them?

So he didn't try to explain that at all. Instead, he said "As for the pleasure of teaching you… before our contract, little one, I had _informed_ past masters of knowledge they requested of me, but I had never truly _taught_ anyone, in any subject. And I found it surprisingly satisfying!"

Ciel assumed a twisted smile. "Why, because you got to bring out that riding crop and smack my hands whenever I made a mistake in Latin?"

Sebastian started to shake his head. "No, that's not—ah, to be truthful, I must admit that I did take some pleasure in that." He grinned, showing his fangs as he confided, "It's extremely rare that a demon can inflict punishment on a master while the contract is still in effect! But that wasn't what I was actually referring to; rather, it was the far greater pleasure I had in watching you _succeed_. Under my tutelage, you went from being unable to even _sit_ on a horse for ten seconds, to riding at a full gallop across the countryside. And from scarcely hitting even the edges of a large stationary target with your shotgun, to bringing down birds on the wing! The pleasure I felt in your accomplishments, that particular form of pride, was one I had never felt before in all my existence. And I would like to feel it again, so I can assure you, my lord, that I am indeed looking forward to becoming one hell of a tutor once more."

"Well, then… we have an agreement!" as Ciel's smile became genuine, even anticipatory. But then it became a shade anxious as he added, "Or very nearly; all that remains is for you to determine how many years it will be in effect."

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

As he waited for Sebastian's response, Ciel silently but fervently hoped that Sebastian would be willing to spend at least a few years, maybe even a full decade in tutoring him on everything he needed to know now. Their earlier training period, with Sebastian teaching Ciel how to shoot and ride and hold his own with adults on numerous subjects while Ciel told Sebastian about the high standards that a butler to an earl was expected to adhere to, had lasted barely two months! Two months of exhausting work from dawn to well past dusk, though it had all been worth it in the end, when everyone at the ceremony of his investiture as Earl Phantomhive had been impressed with how well he handled himself and his responsibilities. But that intensive training period had only been the start of his association with Sebastian, not the end of it!

Sebastian regarded him thoughtfully, then said, "Before I can determine that, I must first ask you a question. Can you see what I am doing with this hand?" as he held a hand out, palm up and fingers spread in a grasping gesture.

Ciel cocked his head as he looked, and finally said, "It looks like you're trying to hold something, but I see nothing th—" and then the hand was suddenly holding a large egg. A _**very**_ large egg, the size of an ostrich egg; far too large for the ex-butler to have hidden up his sleeve, as most magicians did when performing sleight-of-hand tricks.

Sebastian tossed the egg into the air, and it soundlessly shattered to become a multitude of colorful scarves that drifted down between them. "I was gathering _aether_ just then," he explained as he flicked a finger at the colorful pile of fabric on the floor, and it vanished with only the faintest _pop_. "Aether, the source of nearly all magic in the world; it is present everywhere, though in varying concentrations depending on the locale. All demons can perceive it, and so can most mortal sorcerers; I just gathered enough of it to re-create all of Phantomhive Manor, not merely a trick egg, but you saw nothing until I shaped that small bit of it into matter. You will certainly need to master sorcery before you venture out on your own as a demon, but before I can teach you how to manipulate aether I must teach you how to _perceive_ it. That will add considerable time to the tutelage, until… Mm, to err on the side of caution, best make it a full two hundred years."

Ciel couldn't help it, he gaped open-mouthed as he echoed, "_Two hundred years_?!"

Sebastian gave him that slow blink and not-quite-innocent look the demon had perfected while being his butler; the one that said _Yes I'm being a sneaky bastard again, but no one will ever be able to prove anything, and besides it's for your own good young master, so just shut up and be a good little earl about it or you'll get stewed spinach and Brussels sprouts for dinner again_. "These will be considerable more difficult subjects than what you learned as a human, little one. Why, if sorcery were that easy, no humans would ever bother to contract with demons, now would they?"

"I suppose not," Ciel said slowly, sitting back in his chair with a small smile, as he felt himself _relax_ for the first time in what seemed like hours; since he had looked in the bathroom mirror to wash his face and seen no contract seal in his right eye. It hadn't been just some guilt-inspired hyperbole; Sebastian really did want to stay with him for—maybe not for all eternity, but at least for many years to come! He wouldn't be facing this new existence alone; that made it so much more bearable.

"So, shall we mark this new agreement?" Sebastian said as he stood up and extended his hand towards Ciel. Not his left hand, the hand he had used for branding Ciel with the contract seal years ago, but his right hand; the hand everyone in civilized society used for handshakes and similar social niceties.

Ciel promptly stood up, feeling a little flutter in his chest as he realized the symbolism of this handshake; signifying them as equals of a sort, each worthy of respect from the other. He extended his right hand, and Sebastian firmly shook it—

And then, while still holding Ciel's right hand in his, Sebastian whipped out his left hand to snake it up the loose sleeve of the nightshirt, and clamped down just above his elbow. _**PAIN!**_ Ciel started to scream in agony and protest, but forced it back and just watched as the elder demon branded a new contract seal into his right bicep.

"You took that much better than the first time, little one," Sebastian said approvingly as he took his hand away and then pushed back the sleeve, to show Ciel the pentagram branded there while an identical seal appeared on Sebastian's hand again. The pain was already fading thanks to his new demon physiology, but Sebastian ran his hand lightly over the seal and the pain vanished instantly, leaving a cool relief and an odd feeling of vigor behind. "Since this is not a matter of summoning power to serve you, the seal need not be as visible as it was in your eye. But this lesser seal will allow me to influence your very body on occasion, when the best way to teach you a particular process, such as changing your shape, may be to directly guide you through it."

Then he stepped back a pace, and briskly brought his hands together with a pleased expression. "Now, then! Shall we begin your lessons?"

"Wh—right now?" Ciel was a little taken aback, but was quick to drop it in favor of growing eagerness. "What will you teach me first? How to change my shape? Or how to perceive _aether_?"

Sebastian's smile turned wry, and just a bit wicked. "Oh, nothing that advanced, little one. We did agree that I would teach you everything you need to know to survive in this world, and that includes several lessons that even mere humans can master. So tonight," as he began gently pushing Ciel towards the bedroom, "we shall start with the basics of _dressing yourself_. It really is well past time you learned how to tie your own shoes…"

Ciel just _knew_ he was flushing a dull red, clear from his neck to the crown of his hair… but he was still smiling.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

_The next sunset:_

When Grell showed up for their twice-delayed rendezvous, she found Sebastian waiting for her in the clearing… in the midst of a wide bed of crimson rose petals that completely carpeted the grass, while holding a huge bouquet of bright red spider lilies in his arms.

"Oh, Bassy! For me?! Oh, you _**do**_ like me!" as she all but danced over the sea of lovely red petals, flinging her arms out wide to embrace the demon—but was stopped cold by Sebastian thrusting that beautiful bouquet out at her, those long arms holding her at a distance.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," the demon said coldly. "My feelings for you are unchanged from before, nor will they ever change. This is solely to thank you, for what you have done for my Ciel. If not for your herding that despairing soul to me, he would likely be comatose still… and if not for your initial involvement in our conversation last night, I might have made a grievous error soon afterwards. So to thank you for that, and for agreeing to wait once more, I created a setting for our rendezvous that I thought you might find pleasing."

"Oh, it's gorgeous!" Grell assured him as she took the bouquet and gleefully twirled about with it. Even if it wasn't for love, nobody had ever given her flowers before!

Sebastian crossed his now-empty arms as he continued with a raised eyebrow, "You should be aware that certain flowers have meanings, Grell. And the meaning of those red spider lilies: an _ending_, to meet for _the last time_. In accepting the bouquet, you have agreed that this one night, with the restrictions we agreed upon at the start, is all you shall ever have from me."

Grell looked at the spider lilies in dismay, and then pouted in disappointment... but only for a moment before grinning at Sebastian with all her pointed teeth. "Well then, I'll just have to make the most of it!"

"I knew you'd say that," Sebastian sighed as he spread his hands wide in resigned acceptance, just before Grell leaped into his arms.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

The next morning, Ciel paced anxiously inside the cottage, peering frequently out the window at the rising sun. The deal had been for Sebastian to do whatever Grell desired only from sunset to sunrise; after that, he was to return to the cottage and Ciel. But the sun had begun clearing the eastern horizon fully fifteen minutes ago, and there was still no sign of Sebastian!

At twenty minutes after sunrise, with the sun fully clear of the horizon and climbing into the clear blue sky, Ceil muttered, "That's it, I'm going to look for him!" Not that he had any idea of how to find one demon in all of Paris, but he simply could not stand idly by any longer—and if he discovered that Grell had broken the agreement and seriously injured Sebastian, he vowed that somehow, there would be Hell to pay!

He grabbed his hat, coat and walking stick, but just as he reached the door with his hand outstretched for the doorknob, it opened of its own accord (and whacked his knuckles in the process.) Sebastian stood on the other side, looking tired and disheveled—no, not just disheveled, wearing a suit that didn't fit him properly! It was the first time Ciel had _ever_ seen him poorly dressed, and it was somehow more shocking than if he'd appeared covered in nothing but blood from head to toe. Ciel blurted out, "Where have you _been_—and what _happened_ to you?!"

"The answer to both questions can be summed up in one word: _Grell_," Sebastian muttered, plucking at his clothes with visible distaste. "May I come in? You're rather blocking the doorway…"

Ciel hurriedly stepped aside, and Sebastian promptly went into the bedroom, coming out five seconds later in his usual butler's uniform. "Ah, that's better," he sighed as he carried the clothing he had been wearing straight to the fireplace and tossed them in—all except the tie, which he regarded with a momentary smirk and then coiled up to tuck into a pocket, evidently deciding to keep it as a souvenir. Then he sat in his chair by the fireplace with another tired sigh. "Little one, forgive me for not getting your _Chocolat Chaud par Sebastian_ this morning, but it would be best for both of us if we stayed inside the wards today. And likely better for us if we move immediately to another country, and not return here for at least a few decades. Perhaps Italy, again?"

"Italy's fine, but what happened? Why do we need to move—and what did Grell do to you, to leave you so exhausted?! He promised, nothing but minor flesh wounds!" Ciel said with outrage.

"He did stick to flesh wounds. But we didn't restrict him to a particular limit on _quantity_," as Sebastian rolled his eyes. "I stopped counting after the _400__th_ bite, minor gash and deep scratch, and that was sometime before midnight…"

"Good grief!" Ciel exclaimed as he came over to lay a worried hand on his shoulder. "Do you need another soul to finish recuperating?"

Sebastian smiled as he covered Ciel's hand with his own. "Thank you for your concern, but just a day's rest will be enough to restore me to full strength. And the exhaustion is only partially from constantly healing the flesh wounds; some of it is also due to… well. To spare your sensibilities, little one, suffice it to say that Grell was insatiable for more than just bloodletting," and his smirk this time made it clear he was referring to the Reaper's sexual appetites.

"I'm not at all surprised," Ciel declared with a roll of his own eyes. "But why do we have to move? Do you think he's going to keep hounding you for another night together?"

"It would not at all surprise me if he did, but that's not the most pressing reason; rather, I have serious concerns about being actively hunted by every other Grim Reaper in the whole of France."

That got Ciel to stare at Sebastian in alarm; anything that would cause this ancient demon "serious concern" tended to be a source of _outright terror_ on the part of any other sentient being. "Because of the eight men we killed two nights ago?"

"Oh, far more than that. I'm afraid that, among other things, Grell and I racked up quite the body count last night. Roughly two hours after our time together began, he insisted we have a human-slaughtering competition, his Deathscythe against my cutlery and talons." At Ciel's appalled gasp, Sebastian gave Ciel a reassuring glance and gesture as he added, "Knowing your feelings on the matter, I insisted we stick to eliminating those who would be considered criminals by any government. Fortunately, Grell knew of a suitable target, from reaping the soul of a dead enslaved child a few nights ago; you may be pleased to know that the largest underground slave-trading ring in France has now been completely and utterly demolished."

"Well, if you had to slaughter some people, I doubt anyone will miss that lot," Ciel shrugged before asking, "So, who won?"

Sebastian half-smiled. "I was careful to let Grell win, by a narrow enough margin for him to believe he'd won entirely on his own merits; the night was all about pleasing him and catering to his whims, after all."

"Not to mention that, believing that he'd won, he wouldn't call for a rematch and additional slaughter," Ciel said with a small smile in return. "Did you set the slaves themselves free?"

"Ah… those who survived are now free, yes," as the elder demon gave him an apologetic look. "Grell became rather indiscriminate in his slaughter at one point, and several adult slaves ended up being Reaped. But I ensured he kept clear of the cages with children in them, and later made sure the locks on those cages were either smashed or sliced open before we left the room to, ah, pursue other activities."

"And by 'pursue other activities,' you mean that pervert wanted to have sex in the midst of a literal bloodbath," Ciel guessed with his face screwed up in disgust.

"Quite literal," Sebastian agreed with a smirk. "I confess to wondering if our Reaper has some demon blood in his ancestry; it would explain a few things… But regardless, though I didn't dine on any of those souls, detecting the essence of a demon at the site of such a slaughter so soon after eight souls were devoured, would convince even the most disinterested division of Grim Reapers that the demon in question is extremely disruptive to their work and must be dealt with immediately."

As he spoke, Sebastian's face acquired a frown of displeasure, one which Ciel echoed. Their little cottage was a far cry from the grandeur of Phantomhive Manor, but Sebastian had made it quite homey and comfortable for Ciel's sake, and he had no desire to leave it. But he also had no desire to be pursued by an entire division of Grim Reapers bent on his and Sebastian's destruction, so if Sebastian thought it best to leave the country, he'd pull their luggage out of the cupboard.

Then a thought struck him, and he looked at Sebastian questioningly. "You said 'even the most disinterested' Grim Reapers… that rather implies that the local division was already interested in us, for another reason. For the souls you grabbed while I was unconscious, in a coma?"

"Ah, no; more for the night's final act; the final reason why I'm quite tired at the moment." Sebastian started smirking again as he explained, "Roughly fifteen minutes before dawn, just as Grell was finally tiring even while horrendously misquoting Shakespeare concerning our upcoming parting of ways, we were discovered by another Grim Reaper. I never got more than his first name of Jacques, but judging by the way Grell reacted when his name was called out, I believe he is our scarlet _Deus Ex Mortis_' current supervisor."

"So, is Grell going to be drummed out of the Grim Reapers now?" Ciel asked with an odd combination of both interest and concern. He knew they owed Grell Sutcliffe a great deal, but that didn't mean Ciel liked that maniac at all.

"If he is, then it's only because he didn't think quickly enough to take advantage of the situation I created," as Sebastian's smirk grew wider. "Knowing already that we would have to depart France quickly due to the prior evening's slaughter… and knowing that one evening's entertainment is actually paltry repayment for what he did, in providing what was needed to restore you to me," and his smirk momentarily became a tender smile, as he laid his hand across Ciel's once more, "I decided to provide Grell with an alibi; to make it appear as if his current state was entirely my doing."

Ciel wanted to tell Sebastian that to take all the blame on himself was actually quite noble of him, but wasn't sure if the elder demon would take it as the compliment it was intended to be. So instead he asked, "And how did you do that?"

"We were spotted by Jacques at a distance, just far enough away that he likely did not sense my demonic essence at first. So I left Grell to dodge behind a building and circle at top speed to get behind the other Reaper… and then left him no doubt at all as to what he was dealing with when I pounced on him and kicked away his Deathscythe before he could use it on me, stripped him on the spot, growled in his ear that I'd be back for _his_ tight arse later, and then bounded away over the rooftops with all his clothing bundled under my arm."

Ciel clapped his hand over his mouth, but not fast enough to stop the first shocked giggle from bursting forth. Then after Sebastian grinned and nodded, he gave up trying to muffle it and burst out laughing, so hard that he had to hang onto the back of the chair for support. Now he knew where his guardian had gotten that ill-fitting suit from… The image of Sebastian streaking buck-naked over the rooftops of Paris, likely with a pair of stark naked and scythe-waving Shinigami in hot pursuit, was too funny to not laugh at!

Sebastian said fondly after his laughter finally subsided to chuckles and wheezes, "I believe that is the first time I've ever heard you laugh in true enjoyment, little one. It really is a delightful sound; I shall have to see about making you laugh more in the future. But back to my tale: it took quite a bit of running and dodging before I managed to shake my pursuers, long enough to take a quick bath in the Loire and put on the clothing I had so recently acquired."

"The Loire?" Ciel echoed with raised eyebrows. "But that river is over a hundred miles away from Paris!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes as he replied, "Monsieur Jacques was _very_ upset. Really, you'd think no one had ever fondled him without permission before… I came back as soon as I could after cleaning up, but I did have to take precautions that I wasn't observed while on my way here; my apologies for making you worry with my late return, but it really could not be helped."

Ciel waved away the apology to focus on more important matters, namely, what they would do next. "So it's just resting for today, but once you're recovered we leave Paris immediately, for another country that's far from this particular batch of Reapers? Are you sure Italy will be far enough? Grell followed us clear from England."

"Grell Sutcliffe must be considered an exception to several different rules," Sebastian said dryly. "And while I cannot declare it with utter certainty, I am reasonably sure they won't pursue us that far; crossing the Alps will put us out of their jurisdiction, and there is always enough work for the Grim Reapers here to keep them too busy to chase us into another division's territory. And the Italian division should likewise be so busy with their duties that so long as we do not dine on any souls there for the first few years, they will largely leave us alone, unless our path directly crosses one of them for some reason. Now, it's a given that we'll be packing the books along," as Sebastian gestured to the bookshelf in the corner. "But is there anything else in this cottage that you'd like to bring with us when we move on?"

_To be continued_

_Author's note: So, if Sebastian could not lie while the contract was in effect, then how did he tell Ciel such a vicious untruth the night before the suicide? For an answer, reread Aservis' original story, and make note of the sentence directly before the one that Ciel remembers so vividly. Sebastian could not lie while the contract was in full effect, but he could and occasionally did __**prevaricate**__ all to Hell-and-gone._


	4. Menial Labor, Mortal Thoughts

**MOVING FORWARD**

**Chapter 4: Menial Labor, Mortal Thoughts**

After Sebastian and Ciel left Paris (and Grell Sutcliffe) behind them, they wandered through Italy for a short while before settling in the small town of Aquileia, largely because Sebastian had fond memories of the area. He had served a few masters there during the era of the Roman Empire, when Aquileia had been at the height of its power and a major metropolis with over 100,000 people; he also had fond memories of helping Attila the Hun raze the city to the ground, in 452 AD.

"Now this has become a nice quiet area where I can tutor you in the basics of living as a demon, with few concerns over being disturbed by other supernatural beings," Sebastian had told Ciel while they'd scouted for a suitable property to buy on the outskirts of town. "When we grow hungry again, we'll move on to a larger city with more souls for choosing from."

"Like Rome?" Ciel had asked curiously; that was one city they hadn't visited while touring the country over seven years ago.

Sebastian had shaken his head while replying, "Not Rome; that city always has an overabundance of demons, and it will be a long while before you'll be ready to compete with them for the souls of the choicest priests and Vatican officials. Perhaps Venice…"

But at that suggestion, Ciel had scowled enough to wrinkle his nose while saying, "No, thank you! That city was far too _wet_, with the tide flooding so many of their streets every day." Even though he was no longer prone to catching chills and getting sick, Ciel still hated getting wet, except for taking nice hot baths.

"Well, perhaps Florence, then. But for now, Aquileia will do nicely." And they found a small farm that suited their needs, a fair distance from both the town center and the archeological digs. The soil on that farm was rocky and ill-suited for growing crops, and the previous owner had barely been able to eke out a living; after his sons had left to find work in larger cities, he'd been quite willing to sell his home to Edgar Corben, a widower gentleman from England who was looking for "a place in a warmer climate but with plenty of fresh country air, for raising a sickly child."

Being that Aquileia was now a small town instead of a bustling metropolis, the arrival of two foreigners had drawn plenty of attention from the locals. But Ciel had lots of experience to bring to his role of Thomas Corben, the sickly, asthmatic child who was simply not well enough to play with other children, and after Sebastian had politely but firmly made it clear that he was not interested in courting any of the local widows or single ladies, they were largely left alone.

After they'd been visited by enough locals to satisfy everyone's curiosity and the initial spate of visits died down, Sebastian went to work on the cottage, using sorcery freely now that he was no longer under the constraints Ciel had set in their old contract. The exterior of the cottage remained much the same to avoid raising suspicions, but the interior was brought up to Ciel's standards of comfort if not of size. Grand overstuffed chairs appeared in front of the fireplace, the fireplace and chimney were rebuilt and improved, the pair of rickety old beds in the bedroom were replaced by a magnificent four-poster bed, the kitchen was rearranged to become a model of efficiency, and the bathroom was widened to make room for a proper British gentleman's bathtub.

Curiously, the cottage decor now included crosses on the walls, a Bible in nearly every room and a small painting of the Virgin Mary over the mantle of the fireplace. When Ciel asked why, Sebastian explained, "Camouflage, my lord. We've told the local priests that we are Protestants and that you are often bedridden to explain why we do not attend the church services that are _de rigueur_ for all other residents, but some trappings of the dominant religion will reassure visitors to our home, so they don't look too closely at any irregularities that may occur."

Sebastian also put up sturdy fencing and bought a small herd of pigs, ostensibly for them to raise and sell for meat, but really for bleeding to make tasty treats for themselves. The elder demon bought groceries in town on a regular basis to maintain their human cover, but most of the food bought went into the pigs' trough to supplement their foraging; only the unsweetened chocolate and a few baking supplies were used for their own consumption.

After a little trial and error, Sebastian came up with a recipe that combined the right proportions of flour, eggs, baking powder, bitter chocolate, and fresh pig's blood (poured over the top of the cake right after taking it out of the oven) to make a true "devil's food" cake that they both enjoyed! It became part of their routine for Sebastian to make the devil's food cake every Sunday for them to eat together, while Ciel was rewarded with either a small cake all to himself or cups of bloody hot cocoa whenever he mastered one of Sebastian's lessons.

At first Sebastian's lessons focused primarily on subjects of a human nature. Ciel had previously learned a little Italian, enough to get by, while still a human and dealing with Italian businessman as he built his toy and sweets manufacturing empire. But under Sebastian's renewed tutelage he learned to speak all the different dialects of Italian, as impeccably as any native of each region. He'd also learned some Latin before, as part of a nobleman's education, but now Sebastian drilled him in the language until he could speak it exactly as the Romans spoke it millennia ago.

In addition to renewing the language lessons, Ciel also learned several things that a certain spoiled noble brat had never bothered to learn at all, while he'd been human and waited on hand and foot. First came dressing himself; the demon-child learned how to dress impeccably from head to toe, in the height of both British and Italian fashions, even learning all the different ways a cravat could be tied. Then came something that Ciel discovered was much harder: learning how to maintain a household.

"Do you actually consider this clean?" Sebastian scolded while running a white-gloved finger along the mantle of the room that Ciel had just cleaned, and then showing him all the gray dust that had accumulated on the fingertip. "Even Mey-Rin could do better than this, without her glasses! Start over, and do it right this time!" And two days later, after looking over the basket of clothes that Ciel had just finished laundering, ironing and folding, Sebastian made biting comments about the wrinkled shirts and the stained napkins before tipping the entire basket onto the ground outside and demanding, "Start over!"

"This is payback for all the work I made you do as my butler, isn't it?" Ciel growled, time and again. But he persevered, and fortunately, he was a much faster learner than Mey-Rin, Bard or Finny had ever been. Soon he was consistently doing all the chores well, even the ironing, and for each task he mastered, Sebastian praised him for his performance and served him generous helpings of _chocolat chaud par Sebastian_.

After finally getting all the laundry done perfectly, while still enjoying his reward, Ciel kept his eyes trained on the teacup while saying abruptly, "I never gave you enough credit, did I? Not nearly enough thanks or praise, for all the hard work you did for me."

Sebastian looked at him in surprise, and then told him after a brief pause, "Human masters typically never praise or thank their demon servants at all. No demon ever expects praise or gratitude from his contractor; our only expectation is of the meal at the contract's end."

"But since you didn't even get that… Thank you, Sebastian. For all the hard work you did for me; I would never have achieved any of my goals if not for your help," Ciel admitted, still staring down at his now-empty cup. "I know it comes years too late to really mean anything, but thank you."

Sebastian reached out to touch Ciel's chin with a finger and gently tipped his head up, so he could smile into the demon-child's eyes. "As the saying goes, better late than never, my lord. And you're welcome."

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When they weren't actively involved in teaching or learning skills, the two demons passed the time in other ways; playing chess, reading aloud to each other, or going on long walks in the countryside in the dead of night, since darkness was no hindrance to demonic vision. On those walks, Sebastian would reminisce aloud on what he'd observed of both significant events and daily life in the region at the height of Aquileia's power, 1600 years ago, while pointing out what few landmarks remained from those times.

Taking a midnight tour of the vaults of Aquileia's cathedral, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, perusing the mosaics that dated from the third and fourth century AD, Sebastian pointed out one particular mosaic with a reminiscent smile. "Done by one of my contractors. Sextus Aetius wanted to create art that would last for over a thousand years and bring him fame and wealth, so I arranged for him to become one of the mosaic artists for Bishop Theodore's pet project. He became wealthy enough while he lived, and his art has indeed lasted over a thousand years, though it took some doing for me to arrange that this particular section survived when the Huns overran the city and razed it to the ground. But now there are no records remaining of who created this mosaic; his art has survived well over a thousand years, but his fame has not."

"Do you remember all the people you've contracted with?" Ciel asked curiously.

Sebastian nodded. "Names and faces come readily to mind, and I can recall more details if I truly wish to."

"If you truly wish to?" Ciel echoed. "Do you mean you'd rather _not_ remember? Because you were treated poorly by most of them?"

"Mm, some were indeed quite abusive; I can recall one monsignor who spent most of the duration of the contract trying earnestly to kill me before its completion. Not that he succeeded, obviously, but it was extremely unpleasant, and I made sure to revisit some of that pain on his body before I took his soul," as Sebastian's fangs gleamed in the darkness. "But it's less a matter of wanting to forget unpleasantness, and more a matter of seeking to ease some of the burden of Time… you'll understand what I mean, after your first millennia."

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

After learning everything Sebastian thought Ciel needed to know about cleaning house and taking care of laundry, they moved on to an even more challenging field: cooking. The first few lessons were relatively easy, for the demon pair; Sebastian simply taught Ciel how to make the bloody cocoa and devil's food cake they both enjoyed. Each time, the first few batches were ruined, but the third or fourth batch was declared perfect, proudly presented by Ciel and eaten by Sebastian with great appreciation.

"Well done indeed!" Sebastian praised him while patting his lips with a napkin, and Ciel grinned while digging into his own slice of cake. But the demon-child's smile faded when Sebastian continued, "Now you will start learning to cook food that will please a human palate." The elder demon noted the worried look and assured him, "The first few lessons will actually be easier, with fewer steps for you to master. Chocolate is considered a tricky substance to work with, being so prone to separating, seizing or scorching under the novice's care."

"I know, since I've provided examples of each over the least two days," Ciel said ruefully as he finished his cake. "But at least with these recipes, I knew how the results should taste when they turn out right…. I _really_ didn't give you enough credit for your work as my butler back then."

"It's enough to know you appreciate it now," Sebastian said with a smile, waving away further apologies—and then waving his hand once more, as a cookbook appeared in it. "Copies of my favorite cookbooks from Phantomhive Manor," he explained as two more cookbooks appeared and were set on the table, before he flipped open the first book. "We'll start you off tomorrow with cooking meat, since we have plenty of that on the hoof outside."

Sebastian slaughtered and butchered a pig, putting most of the meat into a large icebox that he'd also created from _aether_, and then brought a portion inside and showed Ciel the basics of cooking pork. "It… it _looks_ right," Ciel said slowly, poking with a fork at the pork chop he'd just cooked, "but it doesn't taste at all like what I remember! Are Italian pigs really that different from British pigs, or is it just my new taste buds again?"

"Just your changed senses of taste and smell, I'm afraid," Sebastian told him sympathetically. "I promise you, this tastes exactly the same to me as the pork chops that I served you and Lord Randall the last time he visited the manor; the dish that he bestowed his ever-grudging praise on, you may recall."

But seeking more confirmation that Ciel's efforts had been successful, they decided to anonymously supply his dishes to a few of the poorer families in town, and spy on them to observe their reactions while they ate. The Russo family was struggling to feed their eight children; they would be excellent candidates for taste-testing. The Esposito family had only two youngsters, but they and their mother were scraping by on what they could grow on their tiny plot, after the father Antonio died of an accident at his job. The local church was helping them, but surely a few anonymous donations of food would not be refused.

They developed a routine, over the course of Ciel's culinary education: Sebastian would teach Ciel how to cook or bake or mix-and-chill some dish, usually by candlelight in the early hours of the morning, timing the dish to be ready shortly before dawn. When the results came out of the oven or icebox or off the stove, they would pack the dish into a plain wicker basket, wrapped in towels to keep it warm or cold as needed, and top it with a plain white piece of paper on which were printed in anonymous block letters, EAT WHILE IT IS HOT. ENJOY, BUT BE HONEST IN HOW IT TASTES TO YOU.

Then Ciel would pick up the basket, cradling it to his chest, while Sebastian would do the same with Ciel himself; he would carry the demon-child while running into town at speeds currently beyond Ciel's capability, appearing as nothing but a brief blur to anyone who happened to be up at that hour. Once they reached the home of either the Russo or Esposito family, Ciel would set the basket down on the doorstep before leaping up to the roof, with Sebastian covering the noise of his ascent by hammering on the door. Then Sebastian would vanish from in front of the door and soundlessly appear next to Ciel on the roof, while the mother of the family opened the door and picked up the basket. The first few times, the woman had been slow to answer the door or pick up the anonymous offering, suspicious of who would be coming to their house before the sun was even up. But after the first few visits she would be prompt to answer the door and accept the basket, while softly calling thanks to their unknown benefactor.

Then the mother would bring the basket inside to where the children, who had naturally become aware of the routine, were eagerly waiting. Perched on the roof, their supernatural hearing easily picked up the conversation within the home: "What did the cooking angel bring us today, Mama?" "I don't know yet, children, but it certainly smells good! Let's see… Ahh, a meat pie! _Meraviglioso_!" "Another soup; I think this one is vegetable soup! Just the thing for little Mario's cold!" "It's another dessert, a cake! Ah, the angel does such pretty pictures with the icing!"

And since the 'cooking angel' had told them to do so, whether it was a breakfast dish, a dinner dish or a dessert, the family would immediately sit down and start eating, with loud compliments (and occasional complaints) about the food. After the first month, at Ciel's request, Sebastian created small glass peepholes into both houses that gave them views of the dining rooms, so they could see as well as hear the families enjoying the bounties provided.

After the food was eaten, the mother always followed the other printed instructions that had come with the first few dishes; she washed the tray, platter or tureen, carefully packed it with the towels back inside the basket, and when dusk came she set the basket outside on the porch and closed the door again, firmly reminding her children to keep away from the windows, the angel did not want them peeking. Sometime during the night Sebastian would retrieve the basket at super-speed, and then start Ciel's next lesson.

By listening in on their conversations and overhearing gossip around town, they learned when all the children in the two families had their birthdays; Sebastian smirked but complied when Ciel began asking him for a lesson in making a particular kind of cake just before each birthday. On those occasions, Sebastian tutored Ciel in the chef's essential skill of _timing_; figuring out just when to start each dish in a full meal, to have everything ready to serve at the appropriate time. And the next morning, the families would find themselves the recipients of a small birthday feast instead of the usual single dish.

After fourteen months, Sebastian informed Ciel that he had mastered the art of cooking; he had successfully created every dish that Sebastian had ever made for him, as well as several local dishes that Sebastian had obtained recipes for. But Ciel's look of pride faded quickly to a thoughtful expression, and he asked after a moment's hesitation, "So, what's next for lessons in human skills? Are you going to teach me sewing and tailoring?"

Sebastian sighed even as he smirked. "Let me guess; since we've no more reason to feed those ragamuffin children, for a final gift, you want to make clothes for them." Ciel blushed and turned away, and Sebastian taunted him, "Are you aware that you're showing more kindness as a demon, than you normally showed when you were human?"

"Shut up!" Ciel snapped. "And I never said I actually had that in mind; _you_ said it!"

Sebastian chuckled as he created bolts of colorful fabric out of the _aether_, and a few dozen spools of thread rained down onto the table. "It's quite all right, Ciel; even demons understand kindness towards one's pets. And teaching you how to sew and tailor clothing is a good idea regardless. So for the first few lessons, we'll focus on simple clothing for children…"

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The only lessons on demonic living that Ciel had received immediately after their arrival in Italy had been the absolutely necessary ones on keeping better control of his new demonic body; on keeping his eyes human-looking instead of changing to cerise with slit pupils, and on keeping his teeth from becoming fangs at even the scent of blood. Lessons that Sebastian admitted he had been quite remiss on giving Ciel during the first seven months of his new existence, and was determined to make up for now. Still a firm believer that pain was the best teacher, Sebastian had been quick to use the old riding crop on Ciel's hands whenever he lapsed, even though he had also been quick to apologize and reassure the boy afterwards. "You really do look quite cute with cerise eyes and fangs! But now that we're staying in one spot again, it would be better if we weren't found out by the local humans; mobs with pitchforks and torches are really such a bother to deal with."

But after three years in Aquileia, Sebastian declared with satisfaction that Ciel had mastered all the necessary "human living" lessons, and that he was ready to move on to more interesting subjects, such as changing his shape. But before changing his form, Ciel had to master projecting his thoughts enough for Sebastian to 'hear' him; thought projection was how demons commonly communicated with each other, and was essential for communicating when in a voiceless form.

"What about reading minds?" Ciel asked with interest. He'd privately wished for that power more than once back when he'd been a human; it would have been invaluable for negotiating business agreements.

Sebastian shook his head. "No demon, angel, or Reaper, can actually read a human's mind, Ciel; the closest we can come to it is hearing the summons of a human that we're bound to by contract."

"What? But that doesn't make sense! You were always talking about how people's souls are flavored with guilt and despair and rage and whatnot. And that one you fed to me back in Paris, Alphonse," as Ciel's features momentarily twisted in pained remembrance, "when I ate his soul, I knew his name, his last thoughts, his—far more than I ever wanted to know!"

Sebastian grimaced while running his fingers through his hair. "And once again, we run into the limits of human perception and communication. How to explain this to you in terms you can understand… Well. To start with, Ciel, you must understand that the mind and the soul are actually two different parts of a human; very closely entwined, to be sure, but _not_ one and the same. The soul is the essence of a person, but the mind is… well, this is considerably oversimplifying it, but for now try accepting that the mind is the cinematic record that the Grim Reapers so treasure. When a human dies, the body's death converts the once-living mind into the record that they can review. But when a demon takes a soul by force, some shreds of the mind are ripped out with it, which is what you ingested that night. Part of why the Reapers loathe us so, is that taking a soul by force mangles that record beyond their ability to review it."

Ciel rubbed his chin in thought as he mused aloud, "I do recall one of the Reapers talking about their Deathscythe's primary purpose being to sever the soul from not just the body, but from the cinematic record as well."

"Indeed. So yes, as a demon, I can sense the composition of a human's soul, but that sense does not extend to reading their minds while they're still living." Then Sebastian smirked as he added, "Though after observing humans for thousands of years, watching so many generations of them struggle and stumble through their lives, it's usually not too hard to guess what they're thinking at any given moment. Truly, my lord, you were the first human to really surprise me—and repeatedly surprise me!—in over a thousand years."

"Flatterer," Ciel said with a small smile. "So, how does thought projection work?"

_**Like this**_**.**

Ciel gave a start when he realized that Sebastian's words had been as loud as a shout, but he'd never once moved his lips. And the way his voice had 'sounded', inside his head… even more velvet-smooth and rich than before, like the finest Belgian chocolates that had once melted inside Ciel's mouth… "Do that again!"

_**Certainly. Thought projection should come to you quite easily once you learn how it's done. Though I admit that I've never heard of this skill being taught to anyone before; no demon has ever needed to be taught this ability, and of the few records existing in all of demonic lore about a human being made demon, none cover how that converted human learned our ways—if they even did. So it will be interesting to find a way to teach you how to do this**_**.** Sebastian regarded him thoughtfully. _**Perhaps the most effective way will be to communicate with you solely in this fashion for a few days, while leaving you no recourse for responding except thought projection in return**_**…**

That began one of the more frustrating periods of Ciel's existence. As part of Sebastian's training program, he wore a _gag_ every minute of every day, while the elder demon bombarded him with projected thoughts and prodded him to respond in the same fashion. _**Ciel, what's the weather like outside? Would you like to play a round of chess? What's the name of your favorite author? Shall we grow some Sterling Roses outside? Ciel, would you like some more devil's food cake? I'll bake one just for you, if you say 'yes'…**_

But no matter how hard he tried, even though he worked himself into a raging headache more than once, Ciel could not project his thoughts enough for Sebastian to hear him, even though the elder demon assured him that he was 'listening' hard enough to occasionally pick up the passing thoughts of other demons several leagues away.

Finally, after two solid _weeks_ of frustrated silence, Sebastian sighed and said aloud, "I think this is one ability that you simply can't learn on your own, even with more than enough examples given. I shall have to directly guide you through your first few projections, via the seal of our agreement."

Ciel needed no further prompting; he had his shirt off in a trice to expose the seal on his right bicep, with the cocked eyebrow over his gagged features suggesting that it was _about time_ Sebastian tried that method.

Sebastian pressed the palm of his left hand to the seal as he focused, and frowned… and then he thought to Ciel, _**Try projecting now**_.

_Aaaahhh_! As Ciel's eyes went wide, before narrowing to glare at Sebastian. _That bloody hurt!_

_**I apologize, little one, but it couldn't be helped**_, Sebastian said silently as he let go of the seal and stepped back. _**Continue projecting**_.

_Fine. To answer a few of your bloody questions over the last two weeks: It's still raining outside, and we can play chess later, but right now I want that cake you promised me!_ as Ciel glared at his mentor while ripping the gag off his face, to point emphatically at his open mouth. _Cake, now!_

Sebastian chuckled as he quickly complied. And after he'd whipped up and served a small devil's food cake, he told Ciel with a smile, _**One benefit of thought projection is that it allows you to talk even when your mouth is full.**_

_Huh, so it does,_ Ciel thought with a wry smile as he took in another forkful of cake. _So, are you really going to grow Sterling roses here?_

_**I will if you wish it. We haven't covered the subject of gardening yet; I've been deliberately keeping both the house exterior and the grounds of our farm plain and unremarkable, to avoid attracting attention from the locals. But I should think a few rosebushes won't be that noticeable, and you can learn a few gardening skills alongside your demoncraft**_.

As Ciel finished his treat, Sebastian sat down in the chair across from him with a serious expression as he said aloud, "I do have some news for you, of a somewhat disturbing nature. Something I perhaps should have realized years ago, but did not grasp until just now, when I used the agreement seal to directly influence your body. I believe that part of the reason why it hurt you so much, is that… Ciel, you are not fully a demon."

Ciel swallowed, wide-eyed, and set his fork down. "I'm not?"

"Not entirely. You have several of our abilities, thankfully, but when Hannah Annafellows changed you, she didn't do the job properly. She remade you into… something I have never encountered before, but I would say you inhabit a state of being somewhere between demon, and cambion."

Ciel frowned in puzzlement as he asked, "What's a cambion?"

"The hybrid offspring of a demon, usually an incubus, and a human. They are typically born as human grotesques, with limited demonic abilities. They typically grow to their full physical stature within five years but take another hundred years to fully mature, enough to consume souls for power and access more of their demonic heritage." Sebastian hesitated, looking down at the table instead of up at Ciel before continuing, "And they are _not_ immortal; long-lived by human standards, yes, but it's rare for one to survive past even five centuries."

Looking up at Ciel's expressionless face, Sebastian hastened to add, "But you are not truly a cambion, either! You already heal much faster than even a fully mature cambion normally can. Even from the start of your new existence, you could feed on souls and be strengthened from their essence. And though it took a significant push from me, you can now project your thoughts; few cambion ever gain that ability. But you definitely retain some trace human elements in your composition. I don't know yet how those human elements will affect your demonic development. But… when I used the seal to influence you, I could detect…" Sebastian sighed before finally finishing, "You are aging, though very slowly. You are _not_ immortal. You will likely not last even two millennia."

"Two _millennia_?!" Ciel gaped at him, and then burst out laughing. "The way you're acting, I thought you were about to say I'd be dead before Christmas!"

After staring at the laughing demon-child in consternation for a few moments, Sebastian slowly began chuckling as well. "I suppose you're right; from a human's perspective, this would scarcely be considered a death sentence."

"Not at all!" as Ciel rolled his eyes. "It's like telling a beggar on the street that you're so sorry, you can only_—ha-hah!—_you can _only_ spare ten thousand pounds to give him!"

After the laughter subsided, Ciel told Sebastian more seriously, "I suppose when the wrinkles start to appear I'll feel differently about aging. But right now… Sebastian, look at me. Physically, I'm still a _child_! I became an earl at the age of ten, began handling cases as the Queen's Watchdog only a month later, and started my business empire before I turned eleven. But no matter how many adult roles I took on, people still thought of me as a child! I usually had to resort to _intimidating _them, with displays of power and prestige or even outright threats, in order for them to take me seriously." He waved his arms for emphasis as he declared, "I am _**done**_ with childhood, and I will be more than happy to finally grow to a more socially respectable age!"

Dropping his arms, he leaned forward eagerly as he asked, "So, how long do you think it will take? How much slower than normal am I aging?"

Sebastian gave him a wry smile in response. "Well then, I'm afraid you may be disappointed by this… Given that I've seen no appreciable difference in your physique since the day you were turned demon, I'd say your aging rate is at least thirty times slower than the average human's.

After a moment of silence, Ciel said flatly, "Thirty. Thirty times slower. You're telling me that I might actually resemble an adult someday… in another _two hundred years_."

And to that, Sebastian could only give a helpless shrug, while not even bothering to hide his smirk. There was nothing he could do to solve Ciel's dilemma, not that _he _saw it as a dilemma; Sebastian rather liked his Ciel just as small and cute as he was now.

Ciel abruptly flopped facedown on the table, and lay that way for several seconds. Then he muttered into the lacquered wood, "Tch muh shpshfnn."

"I beg your pardon?"

_I said, teach me shapeshifting_! Ciel projected his thoughts, before raising his head to glare at Sebastian. _So I can at least __look__ like an adult when I need to_!

Sebastian chuckled before standing up to bow to his little one and give the traditional response: "Yes, my lord."

_To be continued_


	5. Instincts and Affinities

**MOVING FORWARD**

**Chapter 5: Instincts and Affinities**

Yesterday, Sebastian had successfully taught Ciel how to project his thoughts in order to communicate without talking, as a precursor to lessons in shapeshifting. But he'd had to resort to directly guiding Ciel through the seal of their agreement, which had brought forth two unpleasant revelations: Ciel discovered that Sebastian using the seal to affect him _really_ _hurt_, and Sebastian discovered that Ciel still had some human elements in his essence, which meant he would eventually age and die. But what bothered one of the pair didn't bother the other at all; Ciel thought a life expectancy of over a thousand years was more than enough, and Sebastian knew that any pain from the seal would be transient (and of course, it didn't hurt Sebastian at all.)

But the revelation that Hannah Annafellows had left some human elements in Ciel's essence when changing his nature, also presented a puzzle to them both. How would the human elements affect Ciel's ability to learn a demon's 'tools of the trade' from Sebastian? Were there skills and abilities he'd never be able to acquire?

From the very hour that he'd been converted, Ciel had a demon's ability to heal from nearly any wound. And he'd also been able to see in the dark, hear sounds at a much greater range, and stop breathing without any ill effects. He'd also acquired a demon's senses of taste and smell (much to his chagrin, as it meant he could no longer eat sweets without gagging.) But he hadn't been able to project his thoughts, something that most demons were able to do from the moment they first came into being; not until Sebastian had used the agreement seal on him. What other skills would he be unable to learn without using the seal—and what would he be unable to do at all?

"Since we don't know what my limits are, we'll simply assume that I can be taught to do everything you can do, until utterly proven otherwise," Ciel said firmly, before going to curl up in his favorite chair by the fireplace and closing his eyes, as a method of ending the discussion.

When they'd first begun their new agreement, with Sebastian no longer Ciel's butler but his tutor in everything he'd need to know to survive on his own as a demon, Sebastian had kept Ciel out of bed and awake with every viable distraction he could manage. After enduring seven long years of Ciel being utterly unresponsive to the world in the demonic equivalent of a coma, just the _thought _of his little one lying still in sleep, even the perfectly normal sleep that demons counted as a luxury, agitated the elder demon to no end.

Not wanting to unduly upset his mentor so soon after their reconciliation, Ciel had willingly acquiesced to marathon chess tournaments, reading books aloud from cover to cover, midnight explorations of the countryside, etc., etc. But after three weeks of nonstop activity, Ciel had decided enough was enough. He'd told Sebastian that he wanted the very latest edition of the satirical magazine _Punch_, literally hot off the Fleet Street presses back in London.

Sebastian had gone to Fleet Street, waited patiently at the printer's for the magazine to be printed and the pages collated and bound, snatched the first copy off the top of the stack and zipped back to Italy… And found Ciel curled up in his chair under a blanket, sound asleep and with a sign in his lap reading: _I'm fine, Sebastian. I just wanted to sleep for a while. Give me a few hours before you wake me, please_.

To his credit, Sebastian had managed to keep his irrational fears at bay and go a full three hours before carefully shaking Ciel awake, while waving an enticing cup of devil's hot cocoa under his nose. Ciel had blinked and yawned himself awake, and accepted the blood-flavored bitter drink with a smile and a murmured, "Thanks; that felt good."

After that, they came to an agreement; Sebastian would let Ciel sleep once a week, and after that night's rest the boy-demon would do whatever activity Sebastian requested. Which was often a dramatic reading of one of Shakespeare's plays; Sebastian had a fondness for the tragedies, as well as hearing his little one affect different voices for each character.

After nearly half a year of seeing Ciel sleep once a week and then wake again with no ill effects, Sebastian was finally able to set aside his worries and relax enough to sleep as well. But for reasons neither one ever voiced aloud, they did their sleeping while lounging in the overstuffed chairs in their small living room rather than resume sleeping together in the bedroom, even though the bed there was a perfectly comfortable one.

Now, after Ciel curled up and closed his eyes to end their discussion, while tucking a blanket around him Sebastian mused aloud, "I wonder now if this habit is part of your human side showing? I do recall that you were becoming rather grumpy just before that first time, when you sent me off to Fleet Street; rather like when you were human, and you became cranky after staying up past your bedtime."

"Hmmph." Ciel opened one eye long enough to ask, "If I tell you it is, will you let me sleep more often?" and then closed it and snuggled further into the cushions without waiting for an answer.

"You seem to be doing quite well on just one night a week," Sebastian retorted while perusing their bookshelf, choosing what Ciel would read to him after waking up. Then he settled into the other comfortable chair and also closed his eyes.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

The next day, Sebastian began Ciel's first lesson in shapeshifting. "A demon can become any shape or size they please, but to do so is generally a two-stage process. Every demon I've ever encountered has their base form, which you've also heard me refer to as my true form, and an affinity form that mirrors some animal, such the raven for myself. To shift to one's true form takes no energy, and to shift to one's affinity form takes very little energy. But to shift to a different form, such as this one that I assumed when we formed our contract," as he gestured to his lean, pale and handsome features, "takes a fair amount of energy. So when demons assume a form for the purposes of a contract, they prefer to retain that form for the contract's duration, unless the contractor specifically requests they use their shapeshifting as part of the contract."

"I'd wondered why you used human disguises rather than simply change your shape, those times when disguises were needed," Ciel mused aloud.

"And now you know. There are some demons out there who spend energy with abandon and change their forms on a frequent basis; I can recall one who rather prided himself on creating a different face to wear, every hour of every day. But those demons fuel their habit by stealing and eating souls every week, sometimes even one every night, and that draws the attention of the Grim Reapers."

"Not a good idea, then," Ciel commented.

"Definitely not. And unless those demons soon curtail their habits and retreat to the Netherworld, the Reapers will eventually decide it's worth the disruption in their schedules to have a task force, sometimes the entire division, organize in a great hunt to find and dispatch the shapeshifter. But such massive Reaper Hunts cause serious difficulties for any other demons who happen to be operating in that country at the time, which is why in the past I have been known for tracking down such impetuous fools and dispatching them myself, before the Reapers decided they were worth all that trouble."

"You did?" Ciel said, sitting up straight and looking interested, as well as rather amused. "So does that mean that _you_ were a 'Watchdog of the Underworld'?"

That gave Sebastian a moment's pause. "I suppose it could be seen in that light… but I certainly did not answer to any queen for my actions," he added archly, ignoring Ciel's growing grin. "But _to_ _return to the main subject_, shapeshifting directly from one form to another is the most taxing, so most demons will save their energy by returning to their base or affinity form first. Like so," as Sebastian stood up from the chair.

Shadows seemed to coalesce from around the room as Sebastian suddenly changed to a much darker creature, of which little could be seen except clawed, skeletally thin hands and bright-burning eyes. Ciel tried to peer into the darkness, and then realized an instant later that he was still looking at his mentor with human vision, since Sebastian had drilled him for _months_ on keeping his eyes human-looking at all times, instead of shifting to cerise with slit pupils. But even as he shifted to demonic vision that could pierce any darkness, the shadows vanished as his tutor assumed a different human form, one that was significantly shorter than Sebastian (though no less handsome) and dressed in the clothing of an 18th-century French nobleman. "In this form, I was called Jacques," he said in perfect French and a voice slightly higher pitched than normal. Then his body suddenly shifted again, to become a huge black raven that hovered in midair for a split-second before springing into Sebastian again.

"In addition to the true form and the affinity shape, demons also have a humanoid form that has many elements of both the base form and the demon's affinity animal. You may recall seeing me in this shape, just before we formed the contract," as Sebastian's form shimmered and changed again.

The comfortable men's shoes became tall boots with wicked-looking spike heels, and the Italian shirt and trousers melted into some sort of one-piece, skin-tight outfit that clung to a body even taller than before and covered with lean ropy muscles; the significantly longer arms ended in hands tipped with lethally sharp black talons. Sebastian's skin turned a grayish color, his eyes blazed cerise and his features overall turned sharper, a lipless mouth parting to show rows of wicked fangs. But the greatest difference was definitely the great black wings that sprouted from Sebastian's back; he flexed them once, and a spray of black feathers silently showered down, though they seemed to vanish as they touched the floor. Sebastian's voice echoed eerily as he asked, "_Do you remember_?"

But instead of answering, Ciel just stared at him open-mouthed. When he'd seen Sebastian in that form at ten years old, he'd been far more preoccupied with _getting out_ of that cultists' den, and _killing every cultist there_ in revenge for what they'd done to him; he hadn't really paid attention to the details beyond noting that his savior was definitely inhuman, but willing to give him power—for a price. Now, when he was in no danger and free to absorb every detail… Yes, some elements of the form were monstrous, but they didn't stop Ciel from finding him darkly _beautiful._ So beautiful and terrible and—

He abruptly screwed his eyes shut and lowered his head, while clamping his knees together under the table. _Bad Ciel_! _Stupid… _He scolded his nether region, S_tupid thing, you stop that and go back down __**now**_!

Then Sebastian spoke again, in his normal voice and sounded a little worried. "I'm sorry, little one; I didn't mean to stir up memories of that den of horrors. You can open your eyes now… Would some cocoa help?"

"…yes, please," Ciel managed in a strangled whisper. Thank god, Sebastian thought he was cringing in remembered terror and horror, rather than hiding a horribly embarrassed blush. Hopefully, by the time Sebastian had the hot cocoa ready, both the blush and his stupid _thing_ would subside…

_He doesn't want you that way_, Ciel harshly scolded himself while Sebastian dashed outside to bleed a pig and prepare a batch of bitter cocoa. _He's disgusted by the very idea! He'd rather sodomize a dog in the street_! The cold wash of _shame_ returned his member to its usual state, and by the time the cocoa was ready, he was able to lift his head again to see Sebastian looking apologetic and anxious while setting a steaming cup before him.

Never one to refuse a sweet, he drank it down before giving his mentor an embarrassed and apologetic smile, and saying with a student's proper manners, "Thank you, and I'm sorry to have put you to the trouble. May we continue with the lesson?"

Sebastian had said yesterday that he _was_ aging, if very slowly, so there was hope that eventually he'd stop looking like such a child. Maybe once he grew to physical adulthood, and learned everything he needed to know in order to survive as a demon—once he stopped being an _infant_ by demonic standards—maybe then Sebastian wouldn't be so _repulsed_ by the thought of kissing him and...and _other stuff_ like that; things that Ciel was still too ashamed and anxious to think much about, to even give name to, but still somehow wanted to do with Sebastian.

He suppressed a snort of self-derision at such wistful thinking. Sure, maybe in another _two hundred years_…

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Thankfully, Ciel was ready to continue the lesson; his little one had survived horrors aplenty in his short life, and didn't let anything keep him down for long. But still, the demon cursed himself for not picking his words more carefully while demonstrating his in-between form. Careless _fool_, to say "Do you remember"—as if Ciel could _ever_ forget! Sebastian was lucky he hadn't triggered a full-on episode of involuntary traumatic recall! One of those waking nightmares, when Ciel was trapped in his memories and had to be physically roused out of them, would have left him in a foul mood for _at least_ the rest of the day.

"Of course we can continue," Sebastian said with a smile, while silently adding, _with a slight change in curriculum_. Then he shifted to raven shape, and from there into his favorite animal, an elegant black cat, to demonstrate how a demon could take on the shapes of other animals besides their affinity. But after that he stopped and reverted to Sebastian for the rest of the lesson, rather than tell Ciel that a demon could also change _genders_ as well as species—and then bring out Yvette.

Yvette was the name and shape he'd taken on for a female contractor nearly three hundred years ago, whose tastes had been decidedly Sapphic in nature. Over the last year or so he'd been toying with the idea of using shapeshifting lessons as an excuse to bring out Yvette, and then staying in that form for the next month or two; long enough to gently seduce Ciel, who likely preferred women over men just as most males did. And then once the boy had acquired a few dozen positive sexual experiences, he could revert to his preferred gender and show Ciel that sex between males could be highly pleasurable too.

But after traumatizing the boy again, he decided that bringing out Yvette could wait another long while; there had been depraved women as well as men among the cultists that had so horribly abused Ciel back then. Better to stick with Sebastian, the form Ciel identified with safety and sweets, and put off all thoughts of seduction for another decade or two.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

After Sebastian had shown off some of the many things a demon could change his shape into, he told Ciel, "Given that they take little energy for shifting into, the first form you should take should be either your base form or your affinity animal... assuming you actually have either. Cambion, demon-human hybrids, can change shapes after reaching full maturity, and they do acquire a base form but do not have any animal affinity; I suppose one could say that their affinity is to _homo sapiens_. On the other hand, of the few times in demonic lore that humans have been turned to demons, they had an affinity to a particular animal but did not have a base form."

"So I could have one or the other, but likely not both," Ciel summed up.

Sebastian frowned as he admitted, "In your case, little one, I'm honestly unsure whether you have either. I can normally sense a demon's affinity at our first acquaintance, as a, hmm, something like a flavor to their essence. But though I can sense your essence, I cannot detect an affinity... not as yet, anyway. Perhaps it will become stronger once we find the correct animal form and you shift into it a few times," as he reached across the table for Ciel's right arm, and the agreement seal branded there.

"Hey, hold on!" Ciel yelped as he shoved back from the table, just out of Sebastian's reach. "Are you going straight for the seal?"

Sebastian looked at him in surprise. "Yes, of course. Ciel, you couldn't begin projecting your thoughts even after I provided plenty of examples, until I used the seal to guide your body through it. I sincerely doubt you'll be able to accomplish shapeshifting on your own, either."

"At least give me a chance to figure it out, before you use the seal on me!" Ciel insisted, so Sebastian shrugged and sat back, folding his hands on the tabletop. Then the boy-demon asked, "So, how does shapeshifting work for you? What do you do, what are you thinking, when you change?"

Sebastian frowned. "In general, there's actually very little _thought_ involved; it's more of an _instinctive_ process. When a demon forms a contract, their new shape is dictated largely by what they can sense their contractor desires of them, in the instant that the contract seals are created. For reverting to one's true form, it's... dear me, some concepts are quite difficult to translate into human terms..."

After another few moments of thought, Sebastian suggested, "When reverting to true form, it's rather like imagining yourself not just without clothing, but without your skin, to free that which exists inside; not your bones, but your essence. And for shifting to one's affinity shape, it's simply a matter of picturing yourself as that animal, and it happens. In fact, for younger demons with less than absolute control over themselves, they sometimes have to avoid associating with the animals they have an affinity to, lest they find themselves accidentally shifting just at the sight or sound of that animal."

"Did that happen to you, when you were much younger?" Ciel asked.

"Mm, it likely happened at least once, though I can't recall the particulars at the moment; as I mentioned before, after living a few thousand years, one learns the value of forgetting the distant past. Now, for shifting to a form not dictated by contract or affinity or true nature, then yes, some thought is required as well as power. I would suggest that you picture the desired form very vividly, down to the last detail, and then... tell your body that you want to be that shape. If it is your affinity form, then it should happen with relative ease."

Ciel closed his eyes, and pictured... the first Sebastian; the wolfhound he'd had for a pet and protector when he'd been a child. He'd known every inch of that Sebastian's black fur coat, the exact dimensions of his ears and eyes, paws and tail. And he pictured it now, while inwardly demanding: _I want to be that shape_.

Long seconds passed. And then more time, as Ciel concentrated with all his might... until his concentration was broken by hearing Sebastian's voice inside his head. _**What person or animal are you thinking of?**_

"Gaaah!" Ciel's eyes snapped open, and he glared at Sebastian. "You ruined my concentration!"

"My apologies, little one... but you'd been sitting there concentrating for ten minutes already, with no changes to your appearance. Whatever animal you were thinking of, it's likely not your affinity animal."

"I was thinking of a wolfhound," Ciel muttered, before closing his eyes again to picture a different breed of dog. He pictured a mastiff, a terrier, a german shepherd, a rottweiler, a retriever, and even a beagle in succession... but nothing happened.

When he reported that to Sebastian, the elder demon was not exactly sympathetic. "Ciel, you know you are no longer the Queen's Watchdog; I would hope you'd have outgrown the notion of becoming such a loathsome creature as a canine!"

"Woof!" Ciel retorted, just to see Sebastian's eyebrow twitch in that way it did whenever dogs were mentioned.

The eyebrow twitched accordingly, but then it arched at him in expectation as Sebastian commanded, _**Try thinking of other animals. And since I've just sat here and watched you in complete silence for the last hour, at least have the courtesy of telling me which animal you're thinking of at the moment—via thought projection, to keep in practice**_**.**

Ciel nodded acquiescence, and then imagined himself as a wolf... a fox... a badger... a bear... a lion... a stallion... a great stag, or even just a yearling stag without the fine rack of antlers...

At the end of the second hour, after reporting to Sebastian all the animals he'd tried so far, Sebastian pointed out, _**All those animals are mammals, Ciel. Suppose your affinity is with a bird species instead? You already know my affinity for the raven. And many demons have affinities with insects; you know of Claude's affinity to spiders, and there's a reason that Beelzebub is known as Lord of the Flies; he can turn into an entire swarm of them.**_ The elder demon eyed him speculatively while rubbing his chin. _**Back in Paris, Grell kept referring to you as my "little bluebird"; I wonder if that aetherscope he somehow acquired let him see more than just your present form?**_

_A bluebird_?! Ciel scowled at the thought of being such a small and largely defenseless creature, but agreed that he should try thinking of avian species. So he pictured himself as a peregrine falcon... an osprey... a red kite... a harrier... a great owl... a barn owl... and finally, with a disgusted sigh, as a pretty little bluebird. But no matter how much he focused, and demanded his body follow suit, he remained stubbornly human in form.

Finally, he sighed and extended his right arm to Sebastian. _All right, see if you can use the seal to help me shift to my affinity shape... or any other shape at all._

Sebastian nodded, but stood up from the table and gestured for Ciel to come with him, to stand together on the throw rug a few feet away. _**I'm going to shift to my affinity while influencing you via the seal; hopefully that will trigger your own affinity form. If not, then I'll simply shift you into a raven as well; it will cost you more energy, but you still have plenty to spare after Paris, and it will at least teach your body how shapeshifting should work**_**.**

Ciel projected his agreement to the plan, so Sebastian laid his left hand on the seal, just before his form began to shimmer. The former butler shrank as he sprouted feathers and wings, and a second later a large black raven flapped its wings in midair to come in for a gentle landing on the rug. But Ciel hardly noticed, as first the same flash of_** pain**_ from the seal that he'd experienced before ripped through him, and then he abruptly found himself shrinking, and falling forward to land on all fours...

Then Sebastian shot back up to his usual height and form, with a look of surprised delight on his face as Ciel asked him, _What did I turn into?_

In answer, Sebastian scooped him up—and he fit into his mentor's hands, so that meant he was really small; did his youth mean he'd become a puppy instead of a full-grown dog?—and dashed with him into the bathroom, to show him in the mirror over the sink:

Cradled in Sebastian's hands was a small gray kitten.

_Nooo! Not a-a __**cat**__! I don't even __**like**__ cats_! Ciel shouted in protest—and was appalled to realize that his mental shout was accompanied by a distressed _mew_.

"Oh, but my Ciel, you're so _adorable_!" Sebastian cooed, cuddling him close. "I see now, this is why I couldn't tell your affinity as a demon; _this_ was your natural affinity even when you were human! Even your hair is such a rare color for young humans, but not uncommon at all for felines; you are a perfect example of a young Russian Blue. And you were always so aloof with strangers, and so finicky, wanting everything just so, hating it when you got dirty but hating cold water even more… I had become so used to thinking of and then dismissing the fancy that you were so like a cat, I hadn't realized that I was sensing your affinity each time!"

As Sebastian spoke, he began gently rubbing the fur under Ciel's chin with a finger, while stroking his back with his other hand. His voice dropped to a blissful murmur as he continued, "And it's no surprise that you don't like other cats; that's actually quite common among cats themselves. Loners by nature, rather like demons in that aspect; very few demons do more than grudgingly tolerate each other… Now come, my Ciel, is this really such a terrible development?"

_I still would rather be a wolfhound, or a falcon_, Ciel grumbled, even as he found himself _purring_ under Sebastian's ministrations. Sebastian just chuckled as he walked back over to the fireplace, and sat down in his chair there to cuddle with him even more.

All the cuddling was _so nice_… so much more physical affection than Sebastian usually gave him—more than Ciel would ever have asked for, if he was honest with himself. In human form, with his human habits, he had far too much pride to allow such cuddling except when he'd been badly shaken and scared, like the night he'd discovered their old contract was gone.

…All right, if it got him the affection he secretly craved, then there was one clear benefit to having an affinity to cats. This cuddling wasn't quite what he wanted most from Sebastian—he wanted it when he was human-looking, and with kissing and that-_other stuff_, but since the elder demon had never been interested in him _that way_, then he'd take what he could get.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Sebastian sighed blissfully as Ciel purred in his embrace, arching and rubbing against him and nuzzling his hand for more, more that he gladly gave. The ancient demon gave a passing moment's fancy to the idea that this was the Highest Power's way of finally thanking him—thanking a despicable demon!—but one who had done what no angels could or would have done. He had destroyed an angel gone mad before that angel could finish 'cleansing' the city of London of all Humanity, an atrocity which would surely have been followed by a genocide from shore to shore.

It was just a silly notion, he knew, but how else could anyone explain his having been granted a little version of Heaven just for himself? Granted a deep desire he'd never even admitted to anyone before, in all his existence...

Demons were loners by nature, generally seeing each other only as rivals in power and competitors for the better-quality human souls. But there had been several times over the millennia, after observing countless generations of humanity, seeing them make families and friendships with each other, forming bonds that many of them were willing to risk their lives for... there had been times that the demon had thought that perhaps those pathetic little walking meals were onto something. That he had privately and rather wistfully wished for an immortal companion with whom he could share such a bond; just someone to share his views and aesthetics with, someone who could understand without judging him or competing against him.

But no other immortals he'd met would have become such a companion; angels and shinigami saw his kind as the enemy. Every other demon he'd ever encountered only saw him as competition, and though he'd occasionally and tentatively tried to see more in a few individual demons, he could muster no affection for any of them either. _Cats_, on the other hand; they were such wonderful creatures, cunning predators like him but also with such soft fur and lithe beautiful forms, and their _purring_... they were the perfect combination of cruelty and cuddliness. So he befriended and petted cats whenever he had the opportunity, and drew comfort from them... but every once in a while he would admit to himself that it wasn't quite what he wanted. Almost, but not quite...

Then the latest mortal he'd contracted with, after spending so much power in the boy's service and more than earning that delicious soul as his due reward, had been turned into a demon—and still his master, forever his master! Achingly, bitterly hungry and furious over the way he'd been denied his well-deserved meal, Sebastian had silently raged and sulked for months, and it wasn't until he'd read Ciel's _suicide note_ that he'd realized what a stupendous _idiot_ he'd been. Ciel had become a demon, but a demon who _truly cared for him_! Who'd wanted to be with him, and make him happy! His secret wish had come true, and he'd all but thrown it away without thinking!

Sebastian had spent the next seven years haunting the Père Lachaise cemetery for souls to feed his Ciel, hoping to wake him, hoping desperately for a second chance... Until finally, with the secret aid of Grell Sutcliffe, his hopes had been fulfilled. And he had enjoyed every day of his companionship with Ciel since then; he privately lamented that it would not last for all Eternity, but since Ciel himself wasn't unhappy about having a long-lived but ultimately mortal lifespan, Sebastian swore that he would make the best of the thousand years and more that they would have together.

And now, with this latest surprise... well, who could blame him for thinking this was some sort of specially-tailored reward, for a demon who occasionally acted for the good of Humanity? Now Ciel could become a _cat_ whenever he pleased! Sebastian had a caring, intelligent and sometimes-feline companion for the next millennium and more; life could hardly get better than this! (Well, yes, it would be even more delightful if Ciel arched and rubbed against him for more when in human form, but Sebastian would take what was offered and be thankful.)

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

They stayed that way for a very long time, cuddling together in the chair, drifting off to comfortably doze for a while before awakening and resuming the petting and purring. A very long time…

But eventually, Sebastian got up from the chair and said with regret, "Ciel, you need to return to your human form now."

Still cradled in his arms, Ciel looked at him questioningly, purring and kneading those cute gray paws against Sebastian's jacket, but said nothing.

Sebastian sighed as he said, "And that's why. Ciel, it's been over _six weeks_ since you assumed your animal form. I could maintain my raven form that long and far longer with no effects, but you're too new to demonhood and shape-shifting; you've submerged into this form so much that you're forgetting what you really are. You can't even project your thoughts to me anymore! I really should have told you to revert to human form three weeks ago, but it was so pleasant... I'm sorry, little one, I know you dislike being forced into things by the seal, but this is really for your own good," as he searched for and found the seal under the fur of Ciel's right foreleg, and lightly touched it.

Ciel yowled in pain and protest, and lashed out with black-tipped claws on a limb that was growing longer by the second while losing fur—and soon a stark-naked youngster was sprawled on the floor and glaring indignantly up at his mentor. Sebastian frowned down at him while thoughtfully rubbing his chin, muttering, "Hmm, your clothes should have returned as well..."

Ciel yelped when he realized he was naked, and dashed into the bedroom. When he came out afterwards properly clothed, he was shuddering and declaring, "I-I actually _forgot I was human_! I mean, a demon! I was just... I'm _never_ doing that again!"

Sebastian suppressed his jolt of dismay and turned it into a stern expression as he said, "No, you will not... not _lose yourself_ to your feline nature, that is. Now that you've learned of the hazard, you can avoid it in the future, simply by remembering to change back to human form for at least an hour each week, or a full night of each month. An easy reminder would be to turn back to human at the sound of church bells, since they ring every Sunday to call humans in to worship; many lesser demons have used that reminder in the past. That habit has spawned some amusing human superstitions, too, but I digress. Do not lose yourself to beasthood again, but you _will_ assume feline form again, when it's appropriate! I speak as your mentor and guardian, Ciel; do not ignore your affinity and its advantages!"

"You speak as a damned cat-lover," Ciel grumbled, while tugging irritably at the cuffs of his jacket and avoiding his eyes.

"That too," Sebastian had to admit. "And in truth, I owe you an apology, little one, for not warning you of the risk and urging you to return to human form much earlier. But it was a very enjoyable six weeks, was it not?"

"_Six_ _**weeks**_?!" as Ciel stopped fiddling with his clothing and gaped at him in astonishment. "I thought it was... just a few days!"

"A total of forty-four days, actually. Which can be construed as 'a few' when measured against centuries," Sebastian reminded him, before taking a cup from the kitchen and going outside to see how their herd of pigs had fared in the meantime.

Fortunately, since he'd kept the herd small and included a good portion of the nearby forest in their fenced-in area so they could forage for food, the pigs were largely self-sufficient. All six pigs were present and healthy, if somewhat leaner than they had been the last time he'd checked. And just as skittish of him as they'd always been, though that was to be expected of pigs whose owner slashed them with a sharp fingernail and made them bleed on a regular basis—which he did right now, cornering one against the fence and holding it down while making a small gash in one shoulder, to bleed a few tablespoon's worth into the cup he'd brought.

He dashed back inside and made a batch of his special hot cocoa for his little lord, to soothe his nerves. And once Ciel was in a reasonably good mood again, Sebastian told him, "Now that we know what your affinity form is, see if you can shift into it on your own. And then in, hmm, roughly three minutes later, shift back to human form."

Ciel scowled, but dutifully concentrated as ordered... but after five minutes, slumped in defeat and said, "It's not working. Use the seal again?"

Sebastian touched first his hand, and then his wingtip, to the seal as he shifted to raven. But this time the adorable gray kitten-Ciel said excitedly, _Okay, it didn't hurt nearly as much that time, and I think I know what to do now_! And he proved it by changing back to human form, and then to kitten-form and back again in less than even one minute-before abruptly sitting down on the floor, looking pale and shaky.

_**I'm afraid you overdid it, little one**_, Sebastian said as he hopped over to the boy and preened his hair with his beak to comfort him. _**Too many changes too quickly can be tiring; I imagine that for one with so little experience, it was quite exhausting. Rest now, and tomorrow we'll explore other facets of shapeshifting,**_ as he shifted back to human form, picked up Ciel and settled him in his favorite chair.

Tucking the blanket around him, he said aloud, "Tomorrow we'll see if you can also shift into other forms, perhaps an avian form." He smiled as he added, "My little bluebird, it would be my pleasure to teach you how to fly..."

_To be continued_

_**Author's Note:**__ And with this chapter, you now have the reason why Ciel had such troubles finding a pet cat for Sebastian, as chronicled in chapter 2. People have often accused cats of having otherworldly powers, or at least the ability to sense the supernatural; in this 'verse they can sense demonic affinities and auras. Sebastian's demonic affinity is with ravens, but contrary to real ravens, our favorite demon is utterly gaga for cats. And the cats they come across can sense the aura this Really Big Bird is projecting of "I adore you! Let me worship you!" and, well, cats are nearly always ready to be worshipped._

_Ciel's demonic affinity is with cats, even though he loves dogs instead. But when cats sense this Really Big Cat coming down the street—a Really Big Cat who doesn't like them—they promptly decide to cede their food or sunny spots to him, rather than end up in a fight they can't win. There's only one type of cat that would approach Ciel when he's alone, and that's a queen in heat… ;-)_


	6. Vows and Contracts, Kindness and Terror

**Moving Forward **

**Chapter 6: Vows and Contracts, Kindness and Terror**

White-faced and trembling, 14-year-old Maria Luisa Francesca Giordano stood in front of the mirror, looking at the simple white wedding gown she was wearing, and said in a quavering whisper, "Mama, I'm not ready for this!"

_You should have thought of that two months ago, before you lay with the boy and got pregnant_, Lucia Emanuela Benedetta Giordano thought with exasperation, but she did not say that out loud; it would be unkind, and even if she did not love her daughter so much, this was not a day for unkindness. Instead, she said soothingly, "No woman ever truly feels ready for marriage, or for motherhood for that matter. When it happens, we simply do the best we can, just as our mothers and grandmothers did before us; we turn to them for wisdom, and to the Lord for strength."

The other women in the room, neighbors and friends from all around their village, all nodded agreement with Lucia's words. Old Antonia Russo, a grandmother four times over and soon to be a great-grandmother as well, added, "And you can turn to your family and friends for support when you need it; we are all here for you, Maria. Though in truth, I do not think you will need it often; you are marrying the finest young lad in the village! The Bertolotti family is one of the wealthiest for many miles around, and they have raised their boys right; their Giovanni is not a spoiled brat, he knows the value of hard work, and with my own eyes I have seen him be kind to stray animals in the street. That means he will be kind to you as well, so long as you treat him with respect and caring as a good wife should."

Again, nods of agreement from all around the room, along with other words of approval for young Giovanni; Signora Colombo even muttered that she'd been hoping to snag him for her own daughter, before a neighbor quickly shushed her. Signora Russo proffered a handkerchief in her liver-spotted hand as she continued, "Now if you need to cry, girl, best to do it now and get it over with, so we will have time to fix your makeup before you walk down the aisle."

Maria took both the handkerchief and the suggestion, bursting into tears as Lucia gathered her into her embrace. She wept in her mother's arms as everyone patted her back and murmured endearments, and a few minutes later she got her tears under control, enough for them all to hear her say softly, "I wish Papa were here. And Grandmama, and Grandpapa…"

Soft pained gasps from all the women, and Lucia swallowed hard as now some of their friends and neighbors put comforting hands on _her_, remembering the tragedy of two years ago. Blinking the tears back and speaking past the sudden lump in her throat, Lucia said soothingly, "Surely they are all looking down on us from Heaven, right this very minute. Looking, and waiting eagerly to see you married and happy. Now come, dry your eyes…"

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

For all that it had been a rushed affair, the wedding was beautiful. Lucia was thankful that so many families in their village had pitched in to help with decorating the church, sewing the bride's and bridesmaids' dresses and preparing the wedding feast. She was sure that everyone knew or at least suspected that Maria was pregnant under her wedding gown, but no one breathed a word of it, or muttered against her wearing white. Lucia suspected that after the tragedy that had nearly wiped out the Giordano family two years ago, everyone was in silent agreement that they deserved some happiness untainted by scandal.

Ignoring the persistent pain in her innards, Lucia joined in toasting the happy couple. During the dancing at the feast, she even let the groom's father Giuseppe Bertolotti lead her in a dance, with Adriana Bertolotti's smiling permission; an acknowledgment that their families were now tied together by the union of their children. Afterwards, she sat down with the Bertolottis as they watched Maria and Giovanni dance together, and the normally taciturn Giuseppe remarked, "They are young, but they make a good couple."

"They do," Adriana agreed with a smile, before she reached over to pat Lucia's hand. "You raised your daughter well, Lucia; she has your kindness and strength of heart, and she knows her sewing and cooking as well as any woman in the village. If they had waited, I think that in a few years I would have been nudging Giovanni to court her over the Colombo, Rossi or Ferrari girls. But even now, I am pleased to call her a daughter-in-law."

"You are too kind," Lucia murmured, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief.

"Salvatore would be proud of her. Rest his spirit," Giuseppe added, looking at her with sympathy as Lucia once more felt her heart squeeze, till the pain surpassed that persistent ache in her guts.

She murmured the appropriate response before turning the conversation to Giovanni's virtues instead, finishing with, "He is indeed the finest lad his age in the village! And if he continues to take after his older brothers Gaspare and Georgio, growing to be as strong and wise as them, my Maria will be the happiest wife and mother in the entire region! And our farm will prosper too, under a Bertolotti's guidance," she added before reaching for her wine glass, silently hoping that they would turn their talk to the future now, instead of talking of the past. The only way she had managed to survive the last two years, raising Maria and restoring their home and chicken farm, was by focusing on the present and looking to the future instead of back on all that she'd lost…

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Six families in the village had pitched in together to give the newlywed couple an extravagant wedding gift; train tickets and hotel reservations for a week in Rome. Maria and Giovanni, who was indeed a kind and responsible lad, had fretted over her living alone on the farm for a week before they came back to help her manage it, but Lucia had shooed them off to the train station with a smile. "The chickens and I will survive for a week without you, my dears! Go, and enjoy yourselves; it may be your only opportunity to see the Vatican and all the grandeur of Rome. Go, and bring me back a nice souvenir!"

So they left, and Lucia went home to an empty cottage, with her head full of just one fact; now that she was married and pregnant, Maria would be considered an adult, a fully grown woman. Any other mother would be proud of her, and Lucia was proud, but she was also afraid of what would happen now...

She sat up reading the Bible by candlelight half the night, to drive away the silent shadows and the fear gripping her heart, but sometime after midnight she finally succumbed to sleep. And since she was still alive in the morning, yawning and rubbing her eyes, she got up to take care of the chores. She needed to feed the chickens and collect the eggs before the delivery boy came by for today's batch of eggs to sell, and then wash the laundry and hang it to dry, weed the vegetable garden, and scrub the kitchen floor as well.

But while she was still filling the chickens' trough with fresh water from the pump, a man's voice coming from right behind her suggested, "Give them plenty of water, and a few days' worth of food." She spun around to see a tall, pale and black-haired man standing behind her with a young gray cat riding on his shoulder as he continued, "It might be another day or two before someone comes to the cottage to check on you, and I'm sure you don't want them to starve in the meantime."

"You!" she gasped at the sight of him, as the memories that had been plaguing her all last night resurfaced, the last time she had seen that man…

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was her daughter Maria screaming for her, while the bandit pinning Maria's arms behind her laughed and jeered, and the bandit looming above Lucia herself grunted his brutal satisfaction while pain ripped through her body. Now Lucia groaned herself awake and staggered to her feet, to find smoke and the stench of blood filling the air, her beloved Salvatore hacked to pieces, her mother and father likewise dead, and Maria—gone, taken by the bandits.

"God, how could you allow this?!" she screamed as she sank to her knees in despair. Everyone dead or gone, her whole life destroyed; why did she have to be still alive to witness it?! How could there possibly be a loving God in Heaven, to allow such horrors to happen to His children?

"A question that has been asked many times over the millennia," a stranger's voice said dryly as suddenly a brisk night wind ripped through the cottage, blowing out the smoke and leaving fresh air behind it. Lucia lifted her head to see a tall and pale, well-dressed man stepping through the wreckage of the cottage door as he continued, "Priests and popes have attempted to answer that question time and again, but their answers never truly satisfy, do they?"

"Wh-who are you?" Lucia asked, self-consciously clutching the remnants of her dress together.

"My name is unimportant; you may call me what you like," the stranger said as he righted the overturned candelabra on the table and lit it—without matches. "The question you should be asking is _what_ am I," as the stranger's eyes suddenly glowed brighter than the candlelight, the pupils turning to slits, while the mouth opened to show a row of fangs.

"A demon!" Lucia gasped as her heart seized in terror. Then, because she realized she had nothing left to lose, she spat and glared at the demon as she demanded, "Have you come to finish the job your servants started?"

"My servants? The bandits who did this were hardly in my service; they serve no one except their own cruel appetites," the demon replied with an elegantly arched eyebrow. "On the other hand, I am prepared to offer _you_ a service… for the usual price."

"M-my soul?" as she recalled with a start that she had something left to lose after all.

"Indeed. Now I cannot restore your husband to you, or the two elders lying dead over there—your parents, I presume; their souls were reaped before my arrival. But the four bandits whose activities first attracted my attention, left here with not only a few dozen chickens in sacks, but a young girl bound and gagged, whom I assume is your daughter; she still lives, and could be restored to you."

"Maria!" Lucia gasped, as her heart leaped with hope.

There was no hesitation, no doubt in her heart; her only child was worth _any_ price. "All right, you can have my soul, _after_ you bring back my daughter, safe and sound—_and_ protect her from harm, without her ever knowing, until she's fully grown!" Thinking furiously, Lucia added, "_And_ rebuild what the bandits destroyed, so we have a livelihood and won't starve to death before then!"

The demon arched his eyebrows at her demands, and then—to Lucia's astonishment—a _kitten_ suddenly popped up out of the demon's coat pocket, and mewed in complaint. The demon absently petted the kitten's head while eyeing her thoughtfully, and after a few seconds he nodded and spoke again. "Here are the precise terms of our contract, if you agree; I shall restore your home and farm enough for you to easily manage the rest, save your daughter and see her returned to you—as well as the chickens the bandits took with them, to begin restoring your flock—and then protect her until she's grown to womanhood, without her ever learning of our contract, in exchange for your soul at the contract's completion. Will that be satisfactory?"

Lucia swallowed hard, but nodded her agreement. "Now, to seal the contract," as the demon pulled off his left glove, to reveal a hand branded with the devil's symbol on the back. "I suggest you pick a spot on your body that no one still living would ever see…"

Her modesty was already in shreds with her clothing, after being raped by the bandits; Lucia let the demon put his hand high on her upper thigh and brand her there. The branding was agonizing, but curiously enough the pain faded quickly, much faster than the burning ache from her violated womanhood. That kitten, who must be the demon's familiar, watched silently during the branding, and then immediately afterwards jumped out of the demon's pocket and dashed through the shattered doorway into the night outside.

Then the demon gestured, and everything around them seemed to shimmer for a moment before being restored to the way it had been that morning, with bloodstains vanishing and broken furniture righted and repaired. But Lucia demanded, "What are you waiting for?! Go save Maria; _she's_ the most important!"

The demon turned to her with that eyebrow arched again, while still gesturing with his left hand, which now had that demonic symbol on the palm as well as the back. "You did specify that your daughter was never to know of our contract. Therefore, most of my sorcery has to be done before she returns. But rest assured, she will be rescued momentarily, and back in your arms soon enough. I shall even guarantee that the bandits who violated you and murdered your kin will die appropriately painful and bloody deaths, in case you were entertaining thoughts of vengeance."

He left a few bloodstains here and there and left the cottage door broken, because he said that some signs of forced entry and violence must remain for the _polizia _to inspect, to account for the bodies of her family that were now lying under sheets in the parlor. But the demon told her that he'd left a replacement door and set of hinges just inside the restored chicken coop, before dashing out the door after his kitten.

Too numb with shock and with mingled hope and despair to really do anything, Lucia just sat down in a chair and waited. And perhaps half an hour later, a cart pulled up outside the door, pulled by a pure black horse and driven by a polite young man she'd never seen before, with her daughter and several sacks full of squawking chickens and the family valuables in the back. "Madam, is this your daughter?" the young man asked her, though there could be no doubt of it, with Maria sobbing "_Mama_!" as she scrambled out of the cart and into Lucia's arms. "I found her by the roadside a few miles from here, not far from… well, perhaps I'll let her explain it…"

Maria's sobbed explanation was nearly incoherent, but Lucia eventually got the gist of it. She'd been bound and gagged, thrown over the back of a bandit's horse and taken away, and had been fervently praying for rescue—when her prayers had been answered, in an unexpected and most gruesome fashion. First a huge black dog had bounded up out of the darkness, barking and growling under the light of the full moon, as all the horses had stopped in their tracks and shied away from it. The bandits had pulled out their guns and shot at the dog, but couldn't seem to hit it before it lunged at the bandit in the lead, sinking its teeth into his arm and dragging him screaming off his horse.

The horse carrying Maria and another bandit had bolted and ran, but had only gone a few strides before a giant black bear had suddenly barreled out of the woods beside the road, roaring as it swiped with its massive clawed paws. The very first blow beat in the head of the horse carrying Maria and it slammed down to earth, trapping the bandit rider's leg beneath it, though Maria herself was miraculously thrown clear. She somehow landed in a haystack; surrounded by hay, she could no longer see what was happening, but she could hear the screams of the bandits and the roars and growls of the wild animals tearing them apart.

After the screams and growls died down, there had been a terrible silence… that had been broken by, of all things, the purrs of a _kitten_ that crawled into the haystack with Maria. And a large bird of some sort; Maria had never gotten a look at it, but she'd heard the rustling of its feathered wings as it pecked and tore at the rope binding her hands behind her back, while the kitten purred and nuzzled under her chin to reassure her. But as soon as her hands were free, the kitten had bounded away while the bird flew off, leaving her to crawl out of the haystack and survey the scene of the slaughter. Amazingly, the wild beasts had killed all the bandits but left the sacks full of squawking chickens and other family treasures untouched; she had put them all next to the haystack for safekeeping, and then started running to seek help, before being found by Signor Alveare a short while later.

Signor Alveare had refused all payment for his kindness, saying it had been his duty to help a young woman in distress, and rode off on his cart long before the _polizia_ arrived in the morning. The next Sunday the village priest had praised God in his sermon, thanking Him for sending the wild animals that had dispatched the bandits and saved young Maria Giordano… but Lucia knew better.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

"So you've come for my soul now?" Lucia asked the demon in mixed fear and resignation. "I had a feeling, after the wedding yesterday… but you didn't keep your word! You failed to protect Maria from harm until she's grown; she had to marry so young because she's _pregnan_t!"

"Of course she is," the demon said as he took the water pail from her suddenly nerveless fingers and finished filling the trough for her. Then he tipped the bucket—which was suddenly filled again, with chicken feed—to scatter the feed on the ground for the chickens, who eagerly pecked it up. "If she weren't, she wouldn't be getting married so young. And I'll have you know that I put considerable effort into arranging for her and young Giovanni to be 'accidentally' locked into that sheep-shearing shed, together with a bottle of aphrodisiac-laced wine."

"What?! You mean—you _arranged_ for her to be despoiled?!" Lucia cried in outrage. "You... you _fiend_!"

"Every inch, madam," the demon responded with a pleasant smile, though the kitten on his shoulder seemed to bristle in offense. "Shall we take this inside?" as he gestured toward the cottage.

It was useless to insult a demon… and useless to fight one with nothing but her fists, since she'd left her crucifix and bible inside the cottage; Lucia nodded resignedly and followed the demon out of the chicken coop and into her home. She started to make a dash for the bedroom, where she'd left her holy things, but the demon effortlessly herded her into the kitchen instead.

"You seem to be under the impression that I failed to keep young Maria from harm, by arranging for her deflowering by the Bertolotti family's youngest son. But it was actually as painless as could be managed—it was a very special wine, of course, my finest blend—and it was quite honestly for her protection," the demon said as he poured her a glass of wine, from a bottle that she knew hadn't been in her cupboard earlier. "You see, Lucia, you have been slowly dying since before the bandits came."

"Wh-_what_?!" as she stared at him.

He pointed at her midsection with one hand, while handing her the wineglass with the other. "The pain there has been growing worse and worse, has it not? And you have been bearing it quite stoically over the years, while ignoring the signs of blood in your stool and such. But soon the pain would be debilitating; you would be bedridden, and dead within a year regardless. Cancer, my dear Signora Giordano; there is nothing that any doctor currently alive could do to halt its course. Hence my putting in considerable effort to not just determine which lad in the area would be a suitable husband for your daughter, but arrange their match before it was too late."

"Cancer?" as she stared down at her torso in disbelief… that slowly turned to resigned acceptance. She had always denied the pain and ignored it because all women had to deal with pain on a regular basis, there was little money to spare for doctoring and always so much to do, she didn't have _time_ to be sick… but she could no longer ignore or deny it. No matter what the demon did to her, she was dying anyway. She reached for the wineglass being held out to her and automatically took a swallow.

After the first gulp, she recollected herself and started to put it down, but the demon encouraged her, "Best to drink it all, madam. It's laced with a powerful sleeping agent, though not one that your village doctor will be able to detect if he does a postmortem examination. As far as he'll be able to tell, you simply died in your sleep, presumably of the cancer eating away at your innards."

She blinked at him, and then took a deep breath and downed the entire glass, while the demon nodded approvingly. The Church preached against suicide, even for those who were soon to die in agony, but wasn't she already damned? So it didn't matter what the Church thought now; what mattered was ensuring that she would not be a burden to her daughter and new son-in-law so soon after their marriage, while keeping her bargain with… with a demon who was turning out to be more kind and considerate than several men she knew in the village.

After she finished the wine, the demon washed the glass for her and put it away, while the bottle just vanished from the counter without a sound. When they went into the bedroom and she picked up her nightgown from where she'd folded it by the pillow, she noted with surprise that he was able to pick up the bible and crucifix that she'd left on the chair and move them aside without being burned. He didn't fit anything Lucia had ever been told about demons, except for that one glimpse she'd had before of glowing eyes and fangs… Then she was both surprised and amused, when this kindly supernatural being politely turned his back so she could undress and put on the nightgown.

"I am having a difficult time believing that you are truly a demon from Hell," Lucia admitted while pulling back the covers, already blinking; whatever he'd put in that wine was indeed powerful. "You're being so… so kind and considerate, of me and my daughter…"

"Oh, make no mistake, I _am_ a demon, and your soul _will_ be eaten," he said firmly as he tucked her in, his eyes glowing and fangs showing once more. "But such kindness costs me little, and in this instance the extra consideration in your demise has a twofold purpose," as he sat down in the chair he had cleared. "You did specify that your daughter was never to learn of my involvement; therefore not even a hint of foul play can be suspected in your death, nothing that would make her suspicious enough to think back to her 'miraculous' rescue. But the second reason is that in addition to being a meal for my little one, you are also serving as a _lesson_ for him, on how to form contracts and how to properly collect the souls afterwards. The soul extraction will happen after you fall asleep, so he won't be distracted from the lesson by screams and such."

"Your little one?" Lucia asked, blinking more and stifling a yawn. She was so sleepy… but also curious; she had never even considered the idea that demons could have families like humans did. "May I meet him?"

For an answer, the kindly demon looked to the kitten on his shoulder, who hopped down to the floor… and then rose up to become a young boy, looking like a much younger version of Signor Alveare who had brought her daughter home two years ago. The demon-eyed boy swallowed hard, looking nervous, but met her eyes as he said politely, "Thank you for being so cooperative. I… I hope this will be relatively painless for you."

Lucia looked at him, and felt a smile tugging at her lips as she nodded to him and told him she appreciated the sentiment. Then she looked to the kindly demon and told him, "Your little one is quite cute."

The elder smiled and nodded agreement, but his child grew red-faced and angry, all but shouting, "I am _**not**_ cute! I'm a demon now!"

"Oh, my apologies; I did not meant to offend," she said with one last yawn, thinking to herself that he was such a prideful boy just like the Colombo family's son, before she closed her eyes for the last time. Her final thought was that it was perhaps not such a bad thing, for her soul to go towards helping another family, feeding such a fine little one…

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

_**You must accept it, my little lord; even as a demon, you are still terribly cute**_, Sebastian projected with amusement while waiting for Lucia Giordano to fall completely asleep.

_Hmmph. I should have appeared to her as Signor Alveare again_, Ciel responded, clearly sulking, as they waited together.

But they didn't have long to wait; after only five minutes, even a sharp handclap and a poke to the shoulder failed to rouse the middle-aged woman. Sebastian flipped back the covers while gesturing for Ciel to come in close again, and Ciel returned to kitten-form as he hopped onto the bed, so he could creep right in to where Sebastian placed his hand. _**See here, little one, the threads of the contract seal? Follow them inwards... Do you see how they wrap around and bind the soul?**_ When Ciel indicated that he did, Sebastian continued, _**That is what lets us remove the soul entirely upon the contract's completion. Now it just takes a firm tug, and— well now; that came out with barely any effort at all! **_he noted with surprised pleasure as he pulled the soul free of the body and held it up. _**She essentially gave her soul to us, at the end; probably because she saw how cute you are,**_ he teased. _**Back to human form for dining, Your Cuteness**_...

_Don't call me that_! Ciel complained as he returned to his natural state as a demon. But he still held his hands out for the soul, and Sebastian carefully transferred it over. Ciel brought his hands up to his mouth, drank it in... and then exhibited such a startled but utterly blissful expression, that Sebastian had seen only once before; on Lady Elizabeth's face, the first time she'd come to the mansion after Ciel's return and tasted one of Sebastian's desserts. _Ahhhh_...

_**And **__**that **__**is the primary reason why demons go to all the bother of contracting for souls**_, Sebastian informed him with amusement while tugging the blankets back into place, as the contract seals on his palm and on the corpse faded away now that their purpose had been fulfilled. _**Comparing a forcibly snatched soul to one acquired by contract, is rather like comparing a single digestive biscuit to a full High Tea**_. _**One can fill up and sate their hunger on a sufficiently large quantity of biscuits, but it's still not really as satisfying**_**.**

_It's like eating an entire chocolate-and-strawberry gateau all at once_, Ciel thought blissfully.

_**Without the risk of dyspepsia afterwards,**_ Sebastian retorted as he gathered the boy into his arms and stood up; Ciel didn't resist at all, still lost in the bliss of ingestion. _**Let's get you home, little one, and well situated before I go hunting for **__**my**__** next meal. This soul was yours from the start, because I knew that one from such a kind and simple woman would be too sweet and yet insufficiently substantial for my standards**_. _**You, on the other hand, once would have eaten cream puffs for every meal at the manor if I had allowed you to**_**.**

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Two weeks later, Ciel donned his coat and hat and stepped out of the cottage for a walk, to distract himself from missing Sebastian. The elder demon came by to check on him every morning at false dawn, but then he sped the hundreds of kilometers back down to the great city of Florence, to spend the rest of his time hunting for a suitable soul to contract with.

If the contract proved to be one that required an extensive period of service, like the one that Ciel had first made with Sebastian in his former life, then they would move house to somewhere in Florence so Ciel could stay close by for his mentor's company and lessons in demonhood. But if the contract could be fulfilled with a one-time service, which Sebastian assured him had been the case for at least a third of the contracts he'd formed over the millennia, then they would stay in Aquileia for a few more years. The cottage had become a comfortable home for them both, and since they had only been here five years so far, they had some time yet before people started seriously questioning why the British expatriate Mr. Corben's sickly son not only wasn't getting better in the fresh country air, but wasn't growing up at all.

Even if he was rarely seen and might not even be recognized, walking into town wasn't an option for sickly little 'Thomas Corben', so Ciel went walking into the woods that bordered their little farm. The hogs they raised steered far clear of Ciel as he walked, probably thinking he was out for more of their blood; he grinned at one, showing his fangs, and was pleased to see the twenty-stone boar shying away from him like a frightened piglet. A strange boar might have accepted the challenge and charged him, looking to trample him or rip him apart with its tusks, but these boars _**knew**_ who was the far more dangerous beast.

Ciel wasn't nearly as strong or fast as Sebastian yet, but he was still far stronger than he'd ever been as a human. He freely admitted that it gave him a measure of savage delight to be able to tackle a boar over twice his size, wrestle it to the ground, and bleed it for adding flavor to the devil's cocoa and devil's food cake recipes that Sebastian had come up with. But he'd already baked and eaten a cake that day, more for something to _do_ than for something to eat, after reading every book in the cottage for the umpteenth time. In truth, after eating Signora Giordano's willing soul, even a devil's food cake just wasn't the delightful treat it had been for him before. Now Ciel understood why Sebastian had once admitted that he had cake and cocoa with him more for companionship than anything else.

High in the trees, the birds were singing, and Ciel thought briefly about turning into a bird and joining them, for more practice in flying. After Sebastian had taught him shape-changing, he'd turned into one animal after another for fun, until Sebastian had pointed out that just _looking_ like an animal wasn't enough; he had to be able to _move_ like them too.

Anything that walked on two legs or four was easy, but it had taken Ciel _days_ to figure out how to slither efficiently as a snake, and as for flying like a bird… well, he could get into the air all right now, and once he was airborne he could fly straight and manage turns well enough, but _landing_ was another matter. When they'd first started the lessons, Sebastian had spent a lot of time with his head under a wing, hiding his snickers, after Ciel went tumbling over or just smacked hard into whatever branch he was aiming for. Now he could finally land on a branch without slamming into it or going arse-up-over most of the time, but he still wasn't as smooth at it as Sebastian or a real bird was.

And he was _never_ turning into a bat again. He'd done that for three nights in a row, but trying to land on a branch _upside-down_ was at least ten times more difficult than right-side-up; every time he'd tried to flip up to catch the branch with his feet, he'd ended up cartwheeling out of control to crash on the forest floor far below, tangled up in his own wings. And with what had happened the _last_ time he'd tried... that had been utterly _mortifying_! After that, he'd told Sebastian (who'd still been laughing like a loon a full ten minutes later) that the bat lessons were _**over**_. If he needed to change into something that flew at night, that's what owls and nightjars were for.

Ciel eyed the birds in the trees once more, and decided that tomorrow he'd turn into a young raven again; flying practice would give him something to do on the morrow, to keep him occupied until Sebastian either got his full meal or said they had to move to Florence. Today, he'd stay on two legs and walk. Or possibly go to four legs, and practice climbing as a squirrel; that was fun, so long as he didn't look down too much. (Even though he knew now that no mere fall could kill him, Ciel was still not fond of heights.) Or maybe he'd just practice shifting into his new form, the one he'd figured out all on his own a few days ago...

Walking through the woods and musing on what he'd practice next, Ciel's attention was suddenly caught by… something glimmering, just at the edge of his vision. What was that? He turned to get a better look at the elusive what-ever-it-was, some distance off in the woods. There were trees in the way but he still caught occasional glimpses of the unknown thing; it seemed to be shining, like a soul, but he couldn't quite make out…

His steps quickened as he wondered excitedly, could it be a really concentrated patch of _aether_? Was he actually seeing _aether_ at last?! Sebastian had said that his sorcery lessons couldn't begin until he learned to see _aether_, the supernatural substance that could be found all over the world and that demons manipulated to do sorcery for their contracts. But he'd also said that Ciel probably wouldn't learn to perceive it until after he'd learned to change his human perceptions of _time_, the way Sebastian did in order to accomplish things at super-speed. But maybe his new demonic body had figured out how to perceive _aether_ already, so they could start his lessons in sorcery; wouldn't Sebastian be pleased to learn that!

Almost running now, he darted around a tree and stepped into a clearing—just as the whatever-it-was flashed brightly, so bright that he reflexively closed his eyes for fear of being blinded. And when he quickly reopened his eyes, silently cursing his weak-minded human instincts, the whatever-it-was had disappeared.

He spent the next couple of hours first traipsing about the woods, and then flying above it in raven form while peering down intently, trying to find the shining thing again. But he finally had to conclude that whatever it had been, it was now just plain _gone_. He clumsily landed in another clearing, assumed human form once more and sighed in disappointment as he turned for home. Maybe Sebastian would know what the shining thing had been, when they saw each other again tomorrow before dawn…

And then he felt a _presence_ at his back, just before somebody said in a voice filled with dark amusement, "Well, well; what have we here?"

Ciel spun around, to find a strange demon standing there regarding him; hairless, with gray-green skin that had a sheen reminiscent of snake scales, and with a definitely predatory grin on his face. The demon continued, "So clumsy at flying, so unaware of my presence until I announced myself; no true demon would be that weak and helpless. You're a former human, recently converted to demon, aren't you? I'm surprised that the demon you coerced into converting you didn't slay you for revenge immediately afterwards."

"Being converted was _**not**_ my idea," Ciel retorted, while edging away from the stranger, as Sebastian's words from long ago in Paris echoed in his head: _Any demon could come along and simply tear you to pieces for sport. _

He firmly tamped down the terror welling up inside him, suppressing it with angry self-censure. Sebastian had _warned_ him time and again, to never spend more than an hour outside the cottage without his mentor and protector, or wander too far from the avoidance wards that Sebastian had set to keep other demons away. And here he'd spent nearly three hours away from the cottage, going further and further away while looking for a shiny thing like some stupid magpie!

"Converted against your will?" the other demon said in surprise. "I wonder what _that_ was in revenge for… Well, no matter. Since you didn't want to be a demon, why don't I put you out of your misery?" as he lunged forward with a wicked grin.

Ciel spun and bolted, sending out a mental scream: _Sebastian! Help! Sebastiaaannn!_

He dodged desperately through the forest, all too aware that the demon was following him easily, making a game of chasing its prey. But if he could make to the cottage, get behind the wards…

He didn't make it.

"SEBASTIAAAAHHH!"

_._

_To be continued_


	7. Making It Right

**Moving Forward**

**Chapter 7: Making it Right**

The great city of Florence, in the Tuscany region of Italy, has a long and rich history dating back to Roman times. Sebastian had visited the city several times in the last two millennia, dealing with humans who had souls worth his interest, and had formed close to a dozen contracts there over the centuries. He was reasonably certain he would find his next meal here, too, particularly since he was actively hunting this time instead of merely waiting for a human to try summoning him.

Crisscrossing the entire city, out of nearly a hundred thousand people, Sebastian had already identified seven who had souls that that met his high standards. Any one of the seven, if he could secure them via contract, should prove delicious and highly satisfying; not as rich and full-flavored as his little lord's human soul would have been, but souls like Ciel's were extremely rare indeed.

The problem was, none of those seven humans were _quite_ desperate enough at the moment to contract with a demon and barter away their souls for his services. And it went against Sebastian's personal aesthetics, to worsen their circumstances enough to _make _them that desperate. Other, less discriminating demons would have done so in an instant, but Sebastian felt that it coarsened the flavor of his meal afterwards.

So he waited, checking on each of the seven on a daily basis, while taking time to check on Ciel every day as well. He could easily afford to wait; he was hungry again, having expended quite a bit of energy over the last five years in teaching Ciel the basics of living as a demon, but he was quite used to being hungry and so it didn't bother him nearly as much as it had bothered his little lord. Ciel was fortunate that they had stumbled upon the opportunity to contract with a soul in a village not far from their cottage, an easy contract that he'd been able to bring to completion not long after the demon-child began to complain of hunger pangs.

That afternoon he looked in on the financier he'd picked as one of the seven, and was pleased to see that the man had gotten himself into even further trouble; the investigators were closing in, and his embezzlement was about to be exposed. Excellent! Sebastian might well find himself with a contract before the next sunrise. He grinned, showing his fangs as he pondered just when and how to reveal himself to the potential contractor. He would wait until the man was alone in his office, and then—

His head jerked up as he 'heard', ever so faintly, a mental cry of _Sebastian! Help! Sebastiaann_!

_**Ciel!**_ Potential meal forgotten, Sebastian sped across the Italian countryside, running for Aquileia at nearly the speed of sound, while cursing himself for not bringing Ciel with him to Florence immediately after the boy had eaten his fill. But Ciel had grown fond of their cottage, and it took so much time and energy to make a full set of avoidance wards for any dwelling, so he'd let the—

_Sebastiaahhh_! And now the scream was filled with _agony_ as well as terror.

_**NO!**_ Heedless of the amount of energy it cost him, Sebastian reached out with his talons and ripped through the dimensional walls, creating a portal between _Here_ and _There_. Traveling by portal, homing in on Ciel's essence, he made it to their cottage and the fields behind it in two seconds—

And found Ciel at the edge of the forest, under attack by another demon. One that Sebastian recognized, having met a few times over the millennia, but no mere former acquaintanceship would save that one! He just had time to register Sebastian's enraged presence; even as he was looking up in alarm, the elder demon slammed into him with the speed and force of an express train.

The other demon was nearly as old as him, but not nearly as powerful, and Sebastian had the element of surprise on his side; after knocking him far from Ciel and before he could lose that advantage, he sunk in his claws into the other demon's arms and _pulled_. Demonic flesh tore and blood erupted from the wounds, as he ripped both arms off at the shoulders.

His enemy screamed in shock and agony as well as rage, but he was already beginning to shift, into his affinity form; snakes didn't need arms to be lethal. But over the last few years, Sebastian had put some thought into what he would do with any demon, grim reaper or even angel that threatened his little lord. With demons, even dismemberment wouldn't last long enough to really end the battle, unless he complicated the process of reconstruction.

So even while his opponent was shifting to a serpentine form, Sebastian concentrated a patch of _aether_ into a device that he'd noticed while traveling with Ciel through Europe, right after the boy's conversion to demon; a very recent human invention—

_**Pain!**_ as the shifting demon took advantage of his split-second's distraction in manipulating _aether_ to lunge forward with a now-serpentine head and neck, and sink venomous fangs deep into his left shoulder. Demonic venom already searing into him, Sebastian couldn't keep back a bellow of agony, even as he reached up and across with his right hand to grab the snake-demon's skull.

Hooking two clawed fingers right into the eye-sockets, he yanked back harshly and wrenched the hissing, shrieking fiend off of him, with blood spurting from its eyes as well as his ravaged shoulder. Then he turned to where the device was waiting—

And stuffed him headfirst into the wood-chipper. Over the roar of the engine, the snake-demon's scream was high-pitched and loud enough to deafen every living creature within range and knock birds out of the sky, before it was abruptly cut off.

He relentlessly stuffed everything into the wood-chipper, even the arms he'd ripped off earlier. And even as the device ripped the snake-demon to shreds, using _aether_ at a reckless pace, Sebastian encased each bloody bit of demon that was spat out the other end into a separate chunk of solid rock. After he'd entombed each scrap and gobbet in stone, creating a cairn over five feet high, he _heaved_ and flung the whole mass over the treetops and a full eight miles away, to scatter and sink into the Adriatic Sea. _That_ would take care of him for at least the next two decades, probably more...

But the battle, though brief, had cost him dearly. He could feel the demonic venom burning as it spread through his body; a poison potent enough to kill lesser demons and affect even the most powerful of their breed, it would debilitate him soon if not dealt with. He had to get rid of the poison quickly—but first, he had to see to his little lord! Sebastian staggered over to where Ciel was lying, asking frantically, "Little one, what did he do to you?!"

For an answer, Ciel rolled to face him, his face gray with shock, and they both stared at what he was clutching with his right hand:

Ciel's left arm now ended at the wrist in a bloody stump.

When a quick scan of the area failed to turn up the missing hand, Sebastian cursed himself again, for not thinking to check his little one for missing body parts _before_ using the wood-chipper. Ciel's hand had probably been in the other demon's stomach, and was now in shreds and sinking to the bottom of the Adriatic Sea!

If he had the hand nearby, he could have simply held it in place on the stump for a few moments and let Ciel's demonic physiology reattach it, with a little patient coaching from him if the frightened youngling needed it. But with no limb to reattach, that left a far more painful and difficult alternative.

"My lord, I promise that I will restore your arm, just as I restored my own arm after it was severed. But in order to do that, I must first heal myself; please, just hold on, wait a few minutes," as he turned his back—his little lord mustn't see him like this—and took a few tottering steps before falling to his hands and knees in the grass.

Between ripping open dimensional portals, creating the wood-chipper and three tons' worth of rock from _aether_, and then hurling all that mass over eight miles away, he had used a lot of power in the last five minutes. This would cost him even more, but it had to be done; he could not afford to simply sleep for the next few decades and let his physiology take care of the venom at its own pace.

Sebastian focused inwards, turning his power on himself in order to find and isolate the other demon's venom coursing through his system. He isolated it, gathered it all up and then expelled it, violently retching a thick black ichor out onto the grass between his splayed hands.

The grass instantly turned to smoking, blackened ash wherever the venom touched it, the death and corruption spreading for several inches around each spatter before finally stopping. But once the venom was expelled, it took only a few seconds to heal the ravaged flesh of his shoulder, so he could fully use his left arm again.

He returned to Ciel and said quietly, "Your turn, my lord. I must warn you, the process will take some time and be very painful; you must simply hold still and bear with it, all right?" After Ciel jerkily nodded his understanding and assent, Sebastian bared the seal of their agreement on the boy's right bicep, pressed his left hand to it and, focusing hard, began guiding that little wounded body through reconstruction.

Ciel gritted his fangs and tried not to scream, but a high-pitched keening sound still emerged from between his clenched teeth, while his right hand spasmodically carved deep gouges in the dirt. "I know, little one, I know exactly how much it hurts," Sebastian murmured, wincing in empathy even as he focused harder. Rapid reconstruction was _agonizing_, even for the most experienced demons. "You must bear with me, it will be over soon…"

It took nearly ten minutes, but finally Ciel had a whole left hand again, right down to the black fingernails. And as soon as Sebastian declared the process done and released the seal, Ciel flung himself at him and clung tightly with both arms, and then rapidly shrank, until Sebastian was holding a trembling Russian Blue kitten in his lap.

"Ohh, my poor little one; you just rest for a while, and let Sebastian take care of you," he crooned as he scooped him up, and headed for the cottage with Ciel cradled to his chest. In truth, after the battle and all he'd had to do in its aftermath, they could both use a rest. Thankfully the avoidance wards on the cottage were still intact, and would shield them while they recuperated.

Once they were inside, he went straight to his favorite chair and settled in, cuddling and petting Ciel to comfort him. After the experience he'd just had, who could blame the poor child for seeking comfort in any way he could? And in such a delightful form, too; Sebastian had no problem whatsoever with petting and reassuring him until he felt better, no matter how long it took.

The sun set, and then rose again, and soon Sebastian could hear the church bells ringing, calling the people of Aquileia to Sunday worship services. But Ciel showed no signs of wanting to leave Sebastian's lap or return to human form again, so Sebastian kept petting and cuddling him. The amputation and reconstruction had been an exceedingly traumatic experience for the former human; it was no surprise that it was taking more than a day for Ciel to fully recover from it. And he was still feeling weak from the venom and from using so much power so quickly; just sitting and resting for a few days more would do Sebastian good as well.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Then Sunday came around again, heralded by the ringing of church bells once more. Sebastian lifted his head as he heard them, before looking down at the kitten in his lap. He stopped petting and lifted his hands away from that soft blue-gray fur as he projected, _**Ciel, it's been eight days; you should change back to human form**_**.**

_No. Not yet_, Ciel thought back, before burrowing his head into the space between Sebastian's elbow and chest, as if to hide himself away from the notion. But the move was so utterly adorable, that Sebastian found himself cooing and cuddling the youngling again instead of chiding him for such infantile behavior. Well... it wouldn't hurt for him to stay in this form for a while longer, another few days...

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

The church bells rang out again...

And again, and he realized that another two weeks had passed. Sebastian knew he could not let this continue; he had been too self-indulgent that first time, right after they'd discovered Ciel's affinity form, and Ciel had suffered for it as a result. For such a young and inexperienced demon, staying too long in the form of an animal meant losing one's mind to the animal instincts. Ciel had been lost to himself once before, and been so disgusted and horrified afterwards that he'd initially sworn to never change to his affinity shape again!

Sebastian knew that as his mentor, he could not let this interlude, however personally delightful it was for Sebastian himself, continue to that point once more. He lifted his hands away from that soft gray fur and once more projected down to that adorable little shape, _**Ciel, it has been a full three weeks and more; you should return to human form now**_.

_Don't want to_, the kitten sent back, nudging after his hand.

_**Why not?**_ Sebastian asked, silently worried over the timbre of Ciel's thoughts; there had been a primitive quality to them that told him the boy was already beginning to forget himself...

Certainly forgetting his usual pride and reticence, Sebastian realized as Ciel replied candidly, _You like me better this way. I get pettings and cuddles this way. If I can't get kisses and sex from you, then I want cuddles_.

...Well. He hadn't been expecting that answer! Sebastian had wondered if Ciel had possessed some irrational fear that his hand would still be gone if he returned to human form, and had been prepared to reassure him that he would be as whole as ever, but he had not been at all prepared for this.

_If I can't get kisses and sex from you_... Ciel was actually interested in sex after all? And in sex with _him_, instead of with some female like most males preferred? Then why had he been so utterly opposed to the idea, back in Paris? And if this was a recent development, why hadn't the boy _said_ something, at least given some indication of his interest, at any time in the last five years? Why…

_Pet me more?_ Ciel mewed, reaching up with a tiny paw for the hand Sebastian had frozen in midair, just out of his reach. Sebastian responded automatically, just as he would for any cat, but as he resumed petting and caressing Ciel again, he also thought very hard about what he would do next.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Finally, a full day later, Sebastian carefully projected to Ciel while petting him, _**My lord, would you like some sweets now? Some devil's food cake, perhaps?**_

_Cake_! Ciel responded eagerly, sitting bolt upright as his cute little pink tongue flickered out, licking his chops.

_**Well, you'll have to switch back to human form for eating it. I won't serve cake to someone who can't handle a fork for eating it properly**_, Sebastian said primly as he picked up the kitten and gently set him down on the floor in front of the chair. Then he waited, while worrying that he'd already waited too long...

But after a few minutes of standing very still, the kitten suddenly grew and morphed, and in seconds Ciel was standing before him in human form, blinking a bit before asking, "Ca-ake nowww?"

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian said as he rose from the chair with a smile, choosing not to comment on the primitive quality of Ciel's speech; he was sure that Ciel would be completely back to normal before the cake was ready to serve.

Half an hour later, they were sitting down together to enjoy some of Sebastian's special devil's food cake, still warm from the oven. Ciel polished off his slice in record time, and a second slice, and then another. And on his fourth slice, he looked up in dismay as he realized, "This isn't enough… I'm hungry for another soul, aren't I? But _already_? It hasn't even been two months!"

"I'm afraid I had to burn up quite a bit of your energy to reconstruct your hand," Sebastian told him apologetically. "You'll have to come with me to Florence, to go hunting there." Eventually Ciel would need to learn the discipline necessary to ignore and control his hunger for years or even decades while under contract, but that could wait for a later time.

Ciel didn't look happy about the prospect of hunting for another soul to eat. But he said, "I'd rather come with you than stay here anyway," as he picked up his fork again.

"If you're concerned about that demon coming back, I can assure you that he won't," Sebastian promised. Even assuming that he could reconstruct himself over the next two decades (if ever), that demon had learned that threatening Sebastian's little lord had _dire consequences_.

"It's not that!" Ciel said hastily. "I just missed... I was frankly _bored_, without your company for chess or any new books to read," as his cheeks were dusted with a blush that Sebastian found utterly endearing.

"Ah. Well, we can see about finding you some new reading material in Florence," Sebastian teased him with a knowing smirk.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

After the last crumb of cake had been eaten and the dishes dealt with, Sebastian gestured for Ciel to come with him to the living room. Ciel followed him out of the kitchen, wondering what was on his mentor's mind; Sebastian had seemed… just a little nervous earlier, or maybe slightly anxious, while they were waiting for the cake to finish baking. Ciel had wondered for a few moments if he was worried that the cake wouldn't turn out right, but for Sebastian that was nearly impossible. The house could be burning up or falling down around their ears, and Sebastian would still turn out a perfect cake while still fixing the cottage, and probably while juggling live geese too.

Once they were standing in the living room by the fireplace, Sebastian asked, "How does your hand feel?"

"Like it never even happened," Ciel answered, looking down at his left hand while flexing it a few times. Growing a new hand had been the most agonizing experience he'd ever had, far worse than the pain he'd felt when it had been bitten off; even worse than when he'd been tortured, branded and raped by the cultists. But now it felt like his hand always had, just a part of him; he'd felt a twinge of pain at Sebastian's query, but that proved to be just a memory, a ghost that faded away a mere moment later.

"Good. Now, then…" Sebastian ran his hand through his hair, a gesture that Ciel had learned meant that he was _very_ nervous indeed. "Ciel, there is a part of your education in living as a demon that I have not only neglected, but not even mentioned until now."

"Learning how to _fight_, correct?" Ciel said with a wry, pained smile. Their years here in Aquileia had been idyllic, but they'd just had a rough reminder that not all of his life would be so easy and untroubled; he had to learn how to survive in combat with other supernatural beings.

"Well, yes, you do need to learn combat skills, but that's not what I was referring to. I… I had initially planned to not even bring up this subject with you for several decades yet, but over the last few years I have been frequently reminded of it, and I've begun thinking, well, hoping that you would be ready in far less time than that. Now, I…"

Sebastian abruptly dropped to one knee in front of Ciel, so their faces were at roughly the same level, and looked him in the eyes as he asked very seriously, "Ciel, do you trust now that even without a contract or our agreement, I would never willingly harm you? Do you understand that if something I do is unpleasant or frightening to you, all you need do is say so and I will instantly stop?"

Now he was _really_ wondering what was going on. What did Sebastian have in mind now; teaching him how to manipulate _fire_? How to turn into _smoke_ and float up the chimney? But all Ciel said was a slightly wary "Yes…"

Looking unconvinced, Sebastian pressed him, "Do you _truly_ understand that? That you can say 'no' at any time?"

Ciel felt a flash of impatience at his mentor's hesitation. "Yes, I can say no! Now whatever it is, Sebastian, let's get on with it!"

"Yes, my lord," and then Sebastian leaned in and _kissed him_.

For a moment Ciel just stood frozen in utter shock. _Whaaa_…? _Is this really happening_? But then he started returning the kiss, with growing enthusiasm. He even dared to reach up while kissing and run his hands through Sebastian's hair, those fine black locks that he'd wanted to touch for so long. They were just as soft and silky as he'd always imagined they would be, and Sebastian groaned in response—

And Ciel flinched at the sound, broke off the kiss and pushed away from Sebastian with a muttered, "No, stop."

Sebastian instantly pulled away, even backing off a few feet. Ciel kept his head down, unable to meet the elder demon's eyes as he said slowly, "I don't… you don't have to… I, I understand that, as a demon who might have to tempt humans into making contracts, I'll have to learn how to seduce them and have sex someday, but… not with you." Not like _that_; he just couldn't bear the thought of Sebastian letting slip any more groans of disgust, while steeling himself for the burden of enduring Ciel's caress.

"I see," Sebastian said, so quietly that Ciel could hardly hear him at all.

Still staring at the floor, Ciel continued, "I know you feel that it's your duty to teach me, as my tutor. But by the terms of our agreement, you should _enjoy_ teaching me, and… I don't want you to have to—to _force_ yourself to do anything. We can figure out some other way, later on."

After a moment of silence, Sebastian said slightly louder, "_Force_ myself?" And suddenly Ciel found himself being grabbed by the chin and made to look up at his mentor, who was wearing the most incredulous expression Ciel had ever seen on him as he repeated, "_Force_ myself? Do you honestly think I _didn't enjoy_ every second of that kiss?! That I wouldn't _enjoy_ doing a great deal _more_ with you? Ciel, _how_ on earth or in hell did you get _that_ idea?"

Ciel stared at him as he blurted out, "You told me yourself! You told me that it disgusted you! That you'd rather—rather sodomize _a dog in the street_!" And it had been said while Sebastian was still under contract to him, and therefore unable to lie.

Sebastian stared at him in shock, and then flinched in apparently guilty realization. Then he sagged and said wearily, "My lord, feel free to beat me as much as you please. When I said that, I was lying… to be more accurate, prevaricating. Though both prospects are abhorrent even for a demon, I would indeed rather sodomize a dog, than fornicate with an actual sniveling infant. But I led you to believe that I was referring to you instead."

Ciel stared at him for another long second… And almost before he realized it, his hand was swinging out in a hard slap that caught Sebastian right across the cheek, and then a vicious backhand that reddened his other cheek as he shouted, "That _really hurt_, you bastard!"

"I know. I'm sorry," Sebastian said miserably, not resisting the blows in the slightest.

Another set of slaps, that left gashes on Sebastian's cheek this time, Ciel's fingernails having unconsciously transformed into curved black claws as he snarled, "Do you know what it _cost_ me to even _make_ that offer to you in the first place?!"

"I have some idea, and that makes my response even more despicable," Sebastian said while hanging his head, as the blood from the gashes dripped towards his chin. Seeing what he'd done in his anger, Ciel backed off a pace, his breath hissing harshly through his fangs as Sebastian continued, "All I can say is that I am truly sorry; sorry for all the ways I lied and mistreated you back then, but for that instance most of all." Then he glanced up through the dark fringe of his hair as he added almost shyly, "And that I hope you will let me spend our centuries together making it up to you."

After taking another moment to wrestle his temper under control, Ciel crossed his arms and scowled at the elder demon. "Well, you can start by making me another cake, right this instant! I'm too angry with you for more kissing now."

"Yes, my lord!" as Sebastian bounced to his feet and dashed into the kitchen.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Half an hour later, using just a touch of sorcery on the bakeware as well as the expert skills he'd acquired as the Phantomhive butler, Sebastian presented his little lord with another devil's food cake: a two-tiered cake shaped like a pair of dark hearts, with a delicate lace of bloody icing stitched across the tops of both. The top and smaller cake had jagged seams running across it, a heart that had been broken but mended, while the icing on the lower cake spelled out Sebastian's plea for forgiveness. He silently sighed with relief when he saw that tiny quirk of a smile flicker across his little lord's lips before he gestured imperiously for the cake to be cut and served; he knew what that smile meant. Ciel wasn't going to let him _forget_ his trespass any time soon, but he had indeed been forgiven.

After the cake had been devoured, Ciel had calmed down enough to let Sebastian coax him back to the overstuffed chairs and sit down, but this time in his lap instead of in Ciel's own chair. Sitting in his lap put Ciel's head at the perfect height for kissing, so Sebastian was delighted to begin 'instructing' his little one in proper kissing techniques, while caressing his still-fully-clothed torso.

"My dear little lord, I have been wanting to cuddle with you this way for many long years," Sebastian sighed happily in between kisses. "It's true that I completely adore your feline form, but trust me when I say that you are beautiful in your human form too."

"You really think so?" Ciel asked shyly. "Then… may I show you something?"

"You may show me anything," Sebastian assured him, but then was mildly disappointed when Ciel scooted off his lap, to stand a few feet in front of his chair.

"I finally figured out how to do something all by myself; I figured out how to shift into an in-between form, like you showed me once, ten days after you left for Florence. I was saving it to surprise you on a special occasion, like the anniversary of our first meeting," Ciel explained before he closed his eyes for a moment, while reaching behind him to push the waistband of his trousers down a few inches. And then his ears abruptly grew and moved higher on his head to become cat ears, his neck and the exposed skin on his arms and legs became covered with a light gray sheen of fur, and a sinuous, furry tail sprouted from his backside.

Sebastian could only stare, utterly entranced, as the now _Extremely Catlike_ Ciel opened his eyes again and gave a shy, uncertain smile while asking, "What do you think? …Sebastian? Say something? …Sebastian, you're _drooling_…"

Sebastian finally reached up, with the hand that wasn't digging into and ripping up the upholstery on the arm of his chair, and pushed his jaw back in place. Then he swallowed a few times before fervently declaring, "You have become the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen in all my millennia! And that is why I must, very regretfully, ask you to shift back to human form, before I lose all control and simply start ravishing you on the spot."

Ciel stared at him wide-eyed, and then the fur, cat ears and tail abruptly disappeared. Sebastian sighed with genuine regret before glancing down at his suddenly rock-hard erection and silently willing it away, as he was quite sure Ciel wasn't ready for that yet. Once he was decent again and he'd repaired the chair as well, he was able to coax his little lord back over for more cuddling and kissing lessons.

It didn't take long at all for Ciel to get the hang of kissing with tongue, and Sebastian was highly pleased when the boy grew bold enough to begin kissing along his jaw and down his neck. But when he reciprocated, while undoing the first button of Ciel's shirt—he froze. And Sebastian was suddenly quite sure that if his little lord had still had the cat ears, they would have been lying flat against his head in distress.

"Too soon, is it?" Sebastian sighed, letting go and leaning back in his chair to look Ciel in the face. "And too many bad memories from before we met, I'll wager."

"No, I'm fine, we can keep going!" Ciel insisted, his jaw firming with determination as he leaned forward.

But Sebastian held him back, shaking his head. "My lord, we will progress when you truly _desire_ more, not just when you think you can _endure_ more. Do you understand?" And when Ciel rather abashedly nodded his understanding, Sebastian assured him, "I'm quite content with just kisses and fully clothed caresses for now; recall that I said I had first thought to wait several decades before even suggesting such physical intimacy."

"Well, I don't think you'll have to wait _that_ long," Ciel mused with a blush and somewhat wry smile. "But you're right; I think I'd rather stay clothed for now. But... um..."

"What is it?"

"Tonight, can we... sleep together? With nightclothes on, I mean. Just sleeping, but together in the bed," as that adorable blush deepened.

"Of course we can, my lord! In truth, I had often wondered why you eschewed the bed and bedroom I'd set up when we moved in, for the somewhat less comfortable armchair out here. Was it because the bed reminded you of... of that night in Paris?" When Ciel nodded without meeting his eyes, Sebastian sighed heavily while slowly shaking his head. "If only I had asked, this whole issue could have been resolved so much sooner... Well, done is done, and it does no good to stagnate while dwelling on regrets. As you have said yourself at other times, the best thing to do now is move forward… which we will do, at whatever pace you set."

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

The grand four-poster bed in the bedroom had seen use a few times since Sebastian had created it five years ago, but only as part of the human charade they kept up. Whenever Sebastian sensed someone approaching the cottage for a visit, Ciel would scramble into nightclothes and get under the covers, to be asthmatic and sickly little Thomas Corben while Sebastian played his father Edgar Corben for the visitors. But as soon as the local priest (doing his duty of ministering to the ill and infirm) or mother with a marriageable daughter (seeing if perhaps the handsome and always polite Signor Corben had changed his mind about remaining a widower) had left, Ciel would hop out of bed, remake it in the way Sebastian had taught him and then not touch it again until they had another visitor.

But that night, Ciel approached the bed when there were no villagers anywhere nearby, and with somebody else already in it. Wearing a plain muslin nightshirt and even a long floppy nightcap, Sebastian smiled at him from the bed while flipping the covers back in invitation, though he kept one thin sheet around himself; visible reassurance that he wouldn't try anything untoward, with the fabric barrier between them.

Trembling just a little (partly from eagerness, partly from nervousness) Ciel scrambled under the covers to join him. Sebastian drew the blankets up over him, and even as the elder demon asked, "Is horizontal cuddling acceptable?" Ciel was grabbing that strong pale arm and wrapping it around himself as he snuggled in closer.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sebastian chuckled as he gently curled himself around Ciel, spooning their bodies together, though still keeping the sheet between them. "You've been wishing for this for quite some time, haven't you? …Even when you were human?"

"…Sometimes," Ciel admitted, blushing a little as he traced the seal of their agreement on Sebastian's hand. But back then, he would rather have been thrashed black-and-blue than give even the slightest indication of how much he longed for the comforting warmth of his butler's embrace. Even if it hadn't been thoroughly improper for someone of his lofty station to have such feelings for a _servant_—the utter scandal! But even aside from that, _Earl Phantomhive, the Queen's Watchdog_, would never show such emotional weakness. And if he had, his demon butler would surely have mocked him for it.

Instead, back then he had silently derived comfort from the times it had been permissible for his servant to touch him; while dressing and bathing him, or carrying him on missions. And instead of sinking into those touches, he had firmly maintained the arrogant attitude that such body service was only his due, as a British nobleman and as Sebastian's master. But now, finally, _finally_…

He might be a demon now, one of the Eternally Condemned... but right that moment under the covers, surrounded by Sebastian's warmth and love, felt to Ciel like the best part of Heaven.

"Then you need wish no more, my little lord," the elder demon whispered into his ear, making him shiver, which made Sebastian chuckle in turn. Then he felt a chaste kiss pressed to his temple before Sebastian continued, "Tonight, we sleep here in comfort. But tomorrow, we will begin packing to move to Florence. I've already identified a few suitable homes we could move into, and seven people there who have souls worth contracting for..."

00oo00oo00oo00oo00

_**The End**_

_(though an epilogue will follow, someday)_


End file.
